In high tones, but without the extremes of the past, the pre-election period of the first round of the presidential elections in Cypruswho will decide on Sunday whether the country will immediately elect a new president to form a government or we will have to wait until next Sunday, February 12, with the nomination of a successor, Nikos Anastasiades.

There are more or less 14 candidates vying for the seat in the Nicosia presidential palace, but three are the main contenders for the presidency: the chairman of the ruling Democratic Anxiety (DISY) Averof Neofitou, an elected member of the Left Opposition (AKEL), Andreas Mavroyiannis and an independent candidate from DISY, but supported Democratic Party (DIKO) and other smaller parties of the so-called middle position, Nikos Christodoulidis, who is also considered dominant.

The three main candidates are connected by a very interesting feature, that all of them were financed for ten years by close associates of the President, Mr. Anastasiadis. Nikos Anastasiades, who won the 2013 and 2018 presidential elections and is unable to run for a third term, had as his right hand in DISY Mr. Neophytou, first government spokesman and then foreign minister Mr. Cypriot Mr. Mavroyannis.

In opinion polls conducted in Cyprus, Mr. Christodoulidis is reported to have a clear lead as a new face who is not affiliated with the two main parties that ruled the Republic of Cyprus after Tassos Papadopoulos left the presidency and Dimitris Christofias first led AKEL in 2008 and later became the current president.

In the second round – since it is considered unlikely that Mr. Christodoulidis will achieve the required percentage of 50% +1 in the first round – one of the other two applicants with almost equal chances is expected to be found, but the second place will play a huge role as a week before rerun on February 12, and for the political landscape of Cyprus after the elections.

Mr. Christodoulides has a clear victory: Roughly 50% of citizens in opinion polls expect him to succeed Mr. Anastasiades, while in any scenario, whether against Mr. Neofitou or against Mr. Mavroyiannis, the former minister foreign affairs is considered to dominate in the second round.

Position of the President

Mr. Anastasiadis has taken a clear position despite his position as chairman for all Cypriots, stressing on the one hand the obvious that he will support the incumbent president of the party to which he handed over leadership of the centre-right faction in 2013, on the other hand, stating on Thursday evening in an interview with the state network RIK that having two nominations from DISY is due to “ambition that did not allow logic to prevail.”

Polls estimate that one in three DISY voters on Sunday will support Mr. Christodoulidis instead of the party’s official candidate.

However, there are 11 more Cypriot citizens who brought their color to the election campaign. All candidates will be included on a single ballot so that every citizen can choose who they prefer.

True, numerous TV debates did not actually make viewers-voters wiser, and the candidates played more … defensively, since only in isolated cases did they try to emphasize their differences from each other at the ideological and practical level.

After all, all three main candidates have almost the same focus on the national question, always supporting the solution of a two-zone bi-communal federation to solve the Cyprus problem, unlike some others, such as George Kolokasidis, who favors a more maximalist proposal, but in the polls they do not collect more 4% each.

The debate will continue until Friday night, often on a personal level, while social media has played a huge role in the campaign this year, and interviews with candidates can even be found on amateur YouTube bloggers.

On Saturday, the eve of the elections, as well as on Sunday, it is prohibited to broadcast, advertise or publish any news or announcements that are directly or indirectly related to the elections. Mass gatherings, dropping leaflets, hanging banners or writing election slogans are also prohibited.

As always in Cyprus, polling stations open at 7 am, break at 12 noon so that the election commissions have an hour’s break, and voting resumes at 1 pm. end at 18:00, when the first exit polls are expected. A clear picture of the results is expected around 21:00.

According to the announcement of the Commissioner General for Elections and Police of Cyprus, the ceremony of proclaiming the new President of the Republic of Cyprus will take place at midnight at the Thassos Papadopoulos Eleftheria Indoor Stadium in Nicosia on Sunday evening or next Sunday, February 12th. in the most likely case, a second round will be required.

According to Kathimerini Cyprus, RIK, APE-MBE, KYPE.