Politics

Cyprus: Former Foreign Minister Christodoulides Elected President

Published FEB 13 2023

Story

Image credit: Phile

The Facts

Center-right independent Nikos Christodoulides was voted on Sunday to be the president of Cyprus, beating left-wing independent Andreas Mavroyiannis with a majority of 51.9% in a run-off election.
Politico
Christodoulides, who is considered a hard-liner regarding Cyprus' reunification issue, was originally from the ruling right-wing Democratic Rally party but broke ranks with the party and its leader Averof Neofytou.
Politico
This tight race came a week after Christodoulides emerged as the frontrunner in a first round that marked the first time that the DISY ["Democratic Rally party"] — the biggest political force in the island's internationally recognized republic — failed to make it to a runoff.
Guardian
On Monday, Cyprus's president-elect had a telephone conversation with Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, in which he expressed his readiness for resuming negotiations for a Cyprus settlement and argued that the status quo is not to the benefit of any of the two communities in the island.
Parikiaki Cyprus and Cypriot News
Ethnically Greek and Turkish Cypriots have been divided by a UN-patrolled ceasefire border since 1974. While Christodoulides wants to restore talks that collapsed in 2017, he is pushing for the UN framework governing discussions to be renegotiated.
Al Jazeera
Outgoing president and Democratic Rally party member Nicos Anastasiades was ineligible to run after reaching the two-term limit following victories in 2013 and 2018. Coincidentally, both Greece and Turkey are also due to hold elections in the coming months.
GreekReporter.com

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

Despite a lack of election experience, Christodoulides ran an effective campaign based on the message of being a unifying force. Now he must take this message and prove to be a strong leader — essential for his presidency and for making a good start in a new era for Cyprus.

Cyprus Mail

Narrative B

While the public had concerns such as the cost of living crisis, irregular immigration, and Cyprus's decades-long split, many voters simply chose to vote for the "least worst" candidate. While this is a theme of many elections, Cypriots mostly simply desire that corruption is rooted out and the suffering economy improves.

The Peninsula Qatar