Up to 14 candidates have filed for the February presidential election in Cyprus

Jan. 5 () –

Up to 14 Cypriot candidates have officially presented themselves this Thursday to the first round of the presidential elections, scheduled for February 5, in a countdown to decide who will take over from the current president of Cyprus, Nikos Anastasiadis.

The director of the Cypriot electoral body, Costas Constantinou, has announced the 14 names at the Filoxenia Conference Center in Nicosia, marking a record number of candidacies since 2013, when eleven people submitted, Phile News has reported.

Former Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulidis, of the center-right ruling Democratic Rally party, starts as the favorite in the latest polls conducted in the country, with 35 percent of support in the first round.

He is closely followed by former diplomat Andreas Mavroyiannis, supported by the opposition Left Party (AKEL), which has 15 seats, and the conservative Averof Neofytou, of the Democratic Rally, with a combined 20 percent.

The current Greek Cypriot president, Nicos Anastasiades, has finally decided not to run after two terms in office. The first round is scheduled for February 5, although a second one is expected, on the 12th, due to a lack of an absolute majority, according to DPA.

Cyprus has been divided in two since in 1974 the Turkish Army occupied the northern part -36.2 percent of its territory- after a coup instigated by the military junta in power in Greece and fearing that the island joined the latter country.

The Parliament consists of 80 members, however, only 56 of these belong to Greek Cypriot legislators while the remaining 24 seats of Turkish Cypriot deputies have been vacant since 1963.