This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/29/cyprus-presidential-race-begins-as-nine-candidates-submit-bids
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Cyprus presidential race begins as nine candidates submit bids | Cyprus presidential race begins as nine candidates submit bids |
| (25 days later) | |
| The race for the Cyprus presidency has begun in earnest, in an election that, once again, could hold the key to the island’s feuding Greek and Turkish communities finally uniting. | The race for the Cyprus presidency has begun in earnest, in an election that, once again, could hold the key to the island’s feuding Greek and Turkish communities finally uniting. |
| On Friday, nine candidates including the incumbent president, Nicos Anastasiades, formally submitted bids to contest the race, the first round of which is scheduled for 28 January. | On Friday, nine candidates including the incumbent president, Nicos Anastasiades, formally submitted bids to contest the race, the first round of which is scheduled for 28 January. |
| After registering his nomination in Nicosia, the island’s ethnically split capital, Anastasiades told the assembled crowd he had a vision for “a fully European country, and especially a truly free and independent country”. | After registering his nomination in Nicosia, the island’s ethnically split capital, Anastasiades told the assembled crowd he had a vision for “a fully European country, and especially a truly free and independent country”. |
| Anastasiades, whose campaign motto is “stability and certainty”, is widely viewed as the frontrunner but not tipped to win outright in the first round, in which case a vote between the top two candidates will be held the following Sunday. | Anastasiades, whose campaign motto is “stability and certainty”, is widely viewed as the frontrunner but not tipped to win outright in the first round, in which case a vote between the top two candidates will be held the following Sunday. |
| The prospect of a nail-biting second round on 4 February has not been ruled out if Nikolas Papadopoulos, who heads the centre-right Diko party, beats Stavros Malas, an independent fielded by the communist party Akel, to make it through to a run-off. | The prospect of a nail-biting second round on 4 February has not been ruled out if Nikolas Papadopoulos, who heads the centre-right Diko party, beats Stavros Malas, an independent fielded by the communist party Akel, to make it through to a run-off. |
| Papadopoulos is the son of the late former president Tassos Papadopoulos, and shares his hardline views on reunification. In 2004, Papadopoulos Sr urged Greek Cypriots to vote no in a referendum on a UN plan to bring together the two halves of the island. Addressing supporters on Friday, Papadopoulos said that if victorious, he would use his five-year term in office to “end failed policies and … restore dignity back to our people”. | Papadopoulos is the son of the late former president Tassos Papadopoulos, and shares his hardline views on reunification. In 2004, Papadopoulos Sr urged Greek Cypriots to vote no in a referendum on a UN plan to bring together the two halves of the island. Addressing supporters on Friday, Papadopoulos said that if victorious, he would use his five-year term in office to “end failed policies and … restore dignity back to our people”. |
| In an Anastasiades-Papadopoulos run-off, much would depend on which way Akel would go as kingmaker. | In an Anastasiades-Papadopoulos run-off, much would depend on which way Akel would go as kingmaker. |
| “The big question in these elections is who Anastasiades will face in the second round,” said the veteran Cyprus expert James Ker-Lindsay. “Akel, like Anastasiades’ Disy [party], may be moderate and pro-solution but it also has a history of jumping into bed with Diko if it means winning ministerial posts.” | “The big question in these elections is who Anastasiades will face in the second round,” said the veteran Cyprus expert James Ker-Lindsay. “Akel, like Anastasiades’ Disy [party], may be moderate and pro-solution but it also has a history of jumping into bed with Diko if it means winning ministerial posts.” |
| Anastasiades, 71, has made reunification of the tiny Mediterranean island a top priority, with confidants telling the Guardian that peace negotiations would be relaunched by the summer if the leader is re-elected. | Anastasiades, 71, has made reunification of the tiny Mediterranean island a top priority, with confidants telling the Guardian that peace negotiations would be relaunched by the summer if the leader is re-elected. |
| Talks described as the “best chance ever” of resolving the west’s longest-running diplomatic dispute collapsed spectacularly in July last year amid angry scenes between Greek and Turkish Cypriots in the Swiss mountain resort where they were being held. | Talks described as the “best chance ever” of resolving the west’s longest-running diplomatic dispute collapsed spectacularly in July last year amid angry scenes between Greek and Turkish Cypriots in the Swiss mountain resort where they were being held. |
| “A solution is basically there,” said a local commentator, Kyriakos Pierides. “It does not require too much, just political will to sit down and finalise it.” | “A solution is basically there,” said a local commentator, Kyriakos Pierides. “It does not require too much, just political will to sit down and finalise it.” |
| For the first time, a far-right party, Elam, will also contest the presidential election after successfully winning two seats in the 56-seat Greek Cypriot parliament in May 2106. A copycat version of Greece’s neo-nazi party, Golden Dawn, the extremist force has moulded itself as the only authentic opponent of the bi-zonal, bi-communal federation envisaged in settlement talks between Cyprus’s two ethnic communities. | For the first time, a far-right party, Elam, will also contest the presidential election after successfully winning two seats in the 56-seat Greek Cypriot parliament in May 2106. A copycat version of Greece’s neo-nazi party, Golden Dawn, the extremist force has moulded itself as the only authentic opponent of the bi-zonal, bi-communal federation envisaged in settlement talks between Cyprus’s two ethnic communities. |