Nikos Christodoulides has officially been declared the winner of the Republic of Cyprus’ presidency. With a 72.2% turnout in Sunday’s run-off elections, he narrowly defeated his sole remaining challenger, Andreas Mavrogiannis, by 3.8 percentage points.
To an indoor stadium in the capital of Nicosia, the former foreign minister promised he would “do everything to be worthy of your trust,” as he would be president “of all Cypriots.”
Mavrogiannis was quick to concede defeat and congratulated Christodoulides on his win. Felicitations from various world leaders soon followed. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she was “looking forward” to working with Christodoulides, who will soon be leading the EU member state.
Restarting reunification talks with the ethnic Turks in the country’s north-east is to take the lion’s share of Christodoulides’s attention.
The Turkish Cypriot north-east, with whom the ethnic Greeks have had a strained relationship since the island’s partition more than half a century ago, has its own government (The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus). Northern Cyprus is considered by the international community to be, however, still part of the Republic of Cyprus, while only Turkey recognises the TRNC.
To achieve this still elusive unification, Christodoulides therefore first has to mend this relationship.
Labour disputes coupled with runaway inflation, the ripple effect of various corruption scandals, as well as an alarmingly high number of asylum applications, will also demand his undivided attention.
Christodoulides, who was foreign minister until early 2022, succeeds Nikos Anastasiades (DISY), 76, who had served two five-year terms as president. After his swearing-in ceremony, scheduled for February 28th, Christodoulides, 49, would be the country’s youngest-ever head of state.
An independent of a conservative bent, Christodoulides had the backing not only of the outgoing president but that of various centrist and right-of-center parties as well.
Before striking out on his own, he was a member of the ruling right-wing Democratic Rally party (DISY). The party’s leader, Averof Neophytou, was unexpectedly eliminated in last weekend’s first round, garnering only 26.1% despite opinion polls predicting a solid second place.
Mavrogiannis, 66, also had taken the independent route and got backing from the communist Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL). In last week’s first round, none of the 14 candidates (a record number) achieved an absolute majority. To break the stalemate, Christodoulides and Mavrogiannis had to face each other in a decisive second round.
Cyprus’ election is nothing short of critical since the president directly influences the formation of the country’s government. On Monday, the president-elect stressed his 16-member cabinet would be made up of “new faces,” i.e. those who have not served as ministers before. “Tonight, I will meet with President Nicos Anastasiades and then hold meetings with party leaders to exchange ideas,” he said.
Political ideologies would not inform his decision, he stressed, and some of the candidates he already has in mind do not even have a political background. “The appointment of the members of the cabinet is at an advanced stage. It is something that will be entirely my responsibility and by extension those choices, whether they are positive in the process or negative, the responsibility again will be mine,” he said.
Christodoulides added that he is considering technocrats that are experts in their respective fields and have their fingers on the pulse concerning the country’s political life.
