Up to 14 Cypriot candidates have officially presented themselves on Thursday for 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 head of the Cypriot electoral body, Costas Constantinou, announced the 14 names at the Filoxenia Conference Center in Nicosia, marking a record number of nominations since 2013, when 11 people applied, Phile News reported.
Former foreign minister Nikos Christodoulidis, of the ruling center-right Democratic Rally party, starts as favorite in the latest polls in the country, with 35 percent of first-round support.
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 Democratic Rally, with 20 percent combined.
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 round is planned for February 12, due to the lack of an absolute majority, according to DPA.
Cyprus has been divided in two since 1974, when the Turkish army occupied the northern part – 36.2 percent of its territory – following a coup instigated by the military junta in power in Greece and fearing that the island would join Greece.
The Parliament consists of 80 members, however, only 56 of these belong to Greek Cypriot legislators while the remaining 24 seats for Turkish Cypriot deputies have been vacant since 1963.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
