Cypriots go to the polls to pick new president

NICOSIA: Cypriots were voting yesterday for a new president who they hope will overcome years of failure and finally resolve the ethnic divisions that have torn the nation into a Greek-speaking south and a breakaway, Turkish-speaking north.

Voters in internationally recognised southern Cyprus were also seeking more benefits from an economy on the rebound after a severe financial crisis.

Opinion polls show incumbent President Nicos Anastasiades leading his two main rivals but he may not get the 50% support needed to avoid a February 4 run-off. Concerns have arisen over widespread voter apathy, especially among young people unhappy with a political system they see as tainted by corruption and ineptitude.

“I urge all citizens to vote,” Anastasiades said after casting his ballot. Challengers include Stavros Malas, backed by the communist Akel party, and Nicholas Papadopoulos, leader of the centre-right Diko party and the son of the late former president Tassos Papadopoulos.

“Democracy is strengthened with voters’ participation,” said Papadopoulos. Malas urged citizens not to let others choose a president for them.

Anastasiades, 71, says this will be his last five-year term if re-elected. His campaign said he brought reunification talks with breakaway Turkish Cypriots farther along than at any time in more than four decades of fruitless negotiations and brought the economy back from near bankruptcy. Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded following a coup by supporters of union with Greece. Only Turkey recognises a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence. – AP