Nikos Christodoulides youngest Cypriot President at 49

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
12 Feb 21:34

Centrist-backed candidate Nikos Christodoulides wins the presidential race with a 3.84% advance on his leftist opponent.

Presidential candidate Nikos Christodoulides gestures outside a polling station during the second round of the presidential election in Geroskipou near Paphos, Cyprus, February 12, 2023. (Reuters)

With a difference of 3.84%, former Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides wins the Cypriot presidential race against leftist diplomat Andreas Mavroyiannis.

Christodoulides, who has become the youngest President of the Republic of Cyprus at 49 years old, won the race with 51.92% of the votes.

It is worth noting that the conservative candidate Averof Neofytou, for the first time in the party's history, was out of the race after having landed in third place in the first round.

The new President had noted throughout the election period that the Cypriots faced three main problems: "the cost of living and housing, immigration, and the Cyprus problem."

Christodoulides, having been backed by centrists who took a hardline on the UN talks regarding the island's division, has made open calls to form alliances with right-wing and ultra-nationalists who compiled about 6% of votes.

Regarding the other imminent concerns he believed Cypriots needed to tackle, Christodoulides vowed faster processing times for asylum seekers and immigrants, as well as a "zero-tolerance" approach to corruption.

Against Belarus, Russia sanctions

Christodoulides was dubbed pro-Russian when he refused as Foreign Minister to approve the imposition of sanctions on Moscow, saying that Cyprus has long been considered home to a large population of Russians.

In 2020, when the EU planned to sanction Belarus, Christodoulides refused, noting that Cyprus would only sanction Belarus if the rest of the bloc agreed to equally sanction Turkey.