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live Nicos Anastasiades is the new President of Cyprus

24 February 2013 / 18:02:53  GRReporter
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After the end of the election day in Cyprus, the exit poll of Cyprus State Radio gave from 57.5% to 61.5% to presidential candidate Nicos Anastasiades and from 38.5% to 42.5% to his rival Stavros Malas.

Mega Cyprus TV gave 57% - 60% to Anastasiades and 40% - 43% to Malas.

The official final results are expected around 8:00 p.m.

In the first round of the presidential elections in Cyprus, Anastasiades won 45.46% of the votes and Malas was second with 26.91%. George Lillikas, who ranked third in the first round, decided not to support anyone in the second round.

After having exercised his right to vote in Limassol, Anastasiades addressed Turkey and Turkish Cypriots and urged them to participate in the resolution of the Cyprus issue. He invited Turkey to withdraw its troops from Cyprus and work for a just solution to the Cyprus issue. He also asked the Turkish Cypriot community to ally with Cypriots for a solution that would bring prosperity to Cyprus. In parallel, he noted that today's elections are critical, noting that citizens have to choose between a continuation of the past and a new chapter for the country. Anastasiades expressed hope that the electoral activity will be higher compared to the first round.

The Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL), represented by Malas, has filed a complaint to the Central Election Commission against Anastasiades's statement, accusing him of having violated election laws. According to the party, Anastasiades directly urged voters to vote for him. The Central Election Commission, however, found no violation. Anastasiades himself said that he did not break the law, while accusing the party newspaper of AKEL stating that, on the election day, its issue included an open election campaigning.

After 30% of the voting-papers nationwide, it became clear that Anastasiades had won 58% of the vote, against 42% for Malas.

Based on 60% of counted voting-papers, the results showed 57.56% for Nicos Anastasiades and 42.40% for Stavros Malas.

The number of people with voting rights was 545,491 on Sunday, including about 660 Turkish Cypriots. Some 1,139 polling stations were open, 40 of which - abroad.

The new President will be the seventh President of Cyprus and will govern the country until 2018. He will take office on Thursday, 28 February, when he will take an oath in Parliament.

Celebrations began at the electoral centre of the Democratic Rally (DISY), representative of which is Nicos Anastasiades, after the announcement of the first official results. Many people are also gathering outside the centre, carrying Greek and Cypriot flags. There is a heavy police presence.

Stavros Malas admitted the victory of Anastasiades.

According to the official final results that became known around 8:00 p.m., Nicos Anastasiades was elected President with 57.48%, or 2,236,965 votes. His rival Stavros Malas won 42.52%, or 175,267 votes. The electoral activity was 18.42%.

Malas congratulated publicly the newly elected President. Anastasiades was greeted on the phone by outgoing President Dimitris Christofias. The new President was also greeted by President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso, who assured him that he could rely on the Commission's help so that Cyprus could overcome the challenges that the country is facing.

Tags: Cyprus presidential elections Nicos Anastasiades Stavros Malas
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