President of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades secured 5 more years at the Presidential Palace, winning Sunday’s run-off presidential election with a comfortable 55.99% of the vote, over 44.01% of the center-left candidate Stavros Malas. Anastasiades, 71, has taken credit for steering the Cypriot economy to recovery after it was plunged into crisis in 2013 by its exposure to debt-wracked Greece and fiscal slippage under a former left-wing administration.
In his first message after the election results, the re-elected President called for unity to address future challenges. In a speech at the proclamation ceremony at the “Tassos Papadopoulos – Eleftheria” stadium in Nicosia, Anastasiades thanked the people who have taken part in the election process, irrespective of who they had voted for.
Surrounded by members of his family, close associates and supporters, Anastasiades said he is “moved, proud and grateful for the trust the people of Cyprus” have showed him.
“I thank all the people who participated in the election process, irrespective of who they had voted for. I am grateful to all the people who gave me a powerful mandate, a mandate to unite forces… There are no ideological colours”, the President stressed.
Whatever has been said during the election campaign was erased tonight by me, he said. What matters, he added, “is tomorrow; how we work together to deal with the problems the young people are facing and the problems vulnerable groups of society are facing, how we modernise the state, how we continue with the same determination to maintain conditions of meritocracy and combat corruption.”
He called on everyone to unite and have as a priority efforts to end the continuing Turkish occupation, “through a solution which does not disregard the security concerns of the Greek Cypriots nor does it ignore the sensitivities of the Turkish Cypriots.”
“I acknowledge that we still have a lot to offer and I also acknowledge that we still need to do more and that is why I insist on unity and wider cooperation,” the President underlined, adding that “only through cooperation can we secure everything we owe to the people of Cyprus.”
Akel backed independent Stavros Malas has called President Nicos Anastasiades to congratulate him for winning second term in office after garnering majority of votes. Malas, called on the re-elected leader “to take care of Cyprus”.
Participation was slightly higher than last week in the first round of presidential elections, but well beyond 2013 presidential elections, by almost eight points. In total 73 per cent of registered voters cast their ballot on Sunday in the second round of the presidential elections.,
The highest turnout was recorded in the Famagusta district where 77.1 per cent of registered voters cast their ballot, and the lowest in Paphos with 69.2 per cent. Turnout in Larnaca was 76 per cent, in Nicosia 73 per cent and 71.8 per cent in Limassol.
Cyprus emerged from a bailout program from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund in 2016. The bailout included recapitalising Cypriot banks through seizing uninsured deposits, a so-called ‘bail-in’ which was the first time it was implemented in the euro zone. source: greeknewsonline
