The former head of Cypriot diplomacy Nikos Christodoulides won the presidential election on Sunday February 12 in the divided island of the eastern Mediterranean, after a ballot centered mainly on the fight against inflation and corruption. Aged 49, he is the youngest head of state ever elected to lead Cyprus.
He won 51.92% of the vote (204,680 votes), ahead of his rival, Andreas Mavroyiannis, who was credited with 48.08% according to the government’s electoral service. The participation rate was 72.2%. In a statement to the press, Mr. Mavroyiannis conceded defeat, congratulating Mr. Christodoulides.
The election was presented as tight: Nikos Christodoulides, head of diplomacy between 2018 and 2022, came out on top in the first round on February 5 with 32.04% of the vote, slightly ahead of Mr. Mavroyiannis, 66. , another seasoned diplomat, former ambassador to France and Ireland, credited with 29.59% of the vote. The first, supported by the centrist parties, like the second, supported by the communist party Akel, the first opposition force in the country, presented themselves as independents.
The new president succeeds conservative Nicos Anastasiades, 76, who is completing two five-year terms. After the defeat of its candidate in the first round, the party of Mr. Anastasiades, Disy, which excluded Mr. Christodoulides for having applied against the opinion of the party, had refused to give voting instructions, leaving the game open.
Rising energy and food prices remain top of mind for Cypriots. Inflation reached 10.9% in 2022, before slowing in January to 7.1%. The Communists, who backed Mr Mavroyiannis, have come under heavy criticism for their handling of the 2012-2013 financial crisis, which nearly pushed eurozone member Cyprus into bankruptcy.
The question of reunification
The new head of state will be called upon to relaunch talks on the reunification of the island, on hold since 2017. Cyprus has been divided since Turkey’s invasion in 1974 of its northern third, in response to a coup of state of Cypriot-Greek nationalists who wanted to attach the country to Greece.
The Republic of Cyprus only exercises authority over the southern part of the island, separated by the Green Line – a UN-controlled demilitarized zone – from the self-proclaimed and recognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) only by Ankara. Mr Mavroyiannis, former head of the Cypriot-Greek negotiators in the reunification talks (2013-2022), had promised if elected to reopen talks from day one. Mr. Christodoulides takes a tougher stance.
The fight against corruption has also occupied the electoral debate, especially after the scandal of the “golden passports”. This program of granting passports against investments on the island had to be canceled due to allegations of corruption.
Another sensitive subject on this island close to the coasts of the Middle East and Turkey: the influx of migrants, for which the two candidates had promised to act. Authorities claim that 6% of the 915,000 people living in the south of the island are asylum seekers.