Greek Cypriots voting in run-off election hope for peace deal with Turkish north
With three candidates in the race, two of which with similar regarding peace talks, voter preference may boil down to which one voters trust most to deliver the most benefits
Greek Cypriots are gearing up for a presidential run-off on Sunday, barely seven months after the latest failure to reunify the eastern Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus.
President Nicos Anastasiades is looking to reprise his triumph over left-leaning Stavros Malas in 2013 when the two men faced each other. Earlier polls had shown Anastasiades beating Malas convincingly in Sunday’s run-off, but Malas’ strong showing in last weekend’s first round of voting might make it a closer race.
Voters are sceptical about whether anyone can lead them out of the labyrinth of the decades-old division with Turkish Cypriots.
Cyprus was divided into a Greek-speaking south and a Turkish-speaking north in 1974 when Turkey invaded following a coup by supporters of union with Greece. Only Turkey recognises a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence and keeps more than 35,000 troops in the north.
Anastasiades, 71, who says it will be his last term in office if re-elected, is counting on his track record of turning the economy around after a 2013 financial crisis that saw unemployment soar and salaries slashed. He has also been trumpeting his role in steering peace talks with breakaway Turkish Cypriots farther than anyone else since the 1974 split.
