Cypriots voted in huge numbers, on Sunday, in a close presidential election between three front runners, with the concentration on corruption and the economy in the wake of a stalemate over the island's long-standing division.

Polling stations closed at 6:00 pm (1600 GMT) with a turnout of 72%, similar to the last presidential election in 2018, as per chief returning officer Costas Constantinou, as quoted by AFP.

Exit polls showed that there would be a run-off election on February 12 if no candidate obtained an outright majority.

To succeed two-term President Nicos Anastasiades, the winner must receive 50% plus one vote.

Former Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides, 49, is forecasted to go on to the second round, as per state broadcaster CyBC.

Christodoulides will face either Andreas Mavroyiannis, a 66-year-old technocrat supported by the communist party AKEL, or Averof Neofytou, the 61-year-old leader of the ruling conservatives, DISY.

Analysts predicted that the centrist-backed Christodoulides would win the election on Sunday.

According to an exit poll conducted by the private TV channel Sigma, Christodoulides received 31-35 % of the vote, Mavroyiannis received 26-30%, and Neofytou received 25-29%.

Antenna TV, another private channel, has Christodoulides leading at 34.1%, Mavroyiannis second with 27%, and Neofytou at 24.8%.

"All polls indicate that Christodoulides is going to the second round," said Andreas Theophanous of the Cyprus Center for European and International Affairs prior to the vote.

"And if he goes to the second round, he is predicted to win," he added.

Meanwhile, voters appeared to be concerned about a cash-for-passports scandal and the strains of irregular migration on public resources, while the island's decades-old divide remained unresolved.

More than 561,000 people, including 10,346 Cypriots living abroad, are eligible to vote.

In the first round of voting, a record 14 candidates ran, although only two were women.