:quality(85)//cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/infobae/Z7I2A4D5CXEWFUAN4TZGWNRI5I.jpg "Ex-Cyprus foreign minister wins presidential election")
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Former Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides was elected as the new president of Cyprus in a runoff election on Sunday. His rival, veteran diplomat Andreas Mavroyiannis, conceded defeat.
With 100% of the ballots counted, Christodoulides obtained 51.9% of the votes against 48.1% for Mayroyiannis, according to the official results.
The 49-year-old former foreign minister campaigned on a promise to unite the country, putting aside ideological or partisan divides. His message resonated with a wide range of voters.
Mavroyiannis, who was Cyprus’s ambassador to the UN, presented himself as an agent of change, ushering in a new political era after a decade of rule by incumbent President Nicos Anastasiades. But the support he received from the communist-origin AKEL party may have swayed undecided voters to back Christodoulides.
Addressing a somber crowd of supporters, Mavroyiannis, 66, said he would not play an “active, day-to-day role” in politics but was ready to offer advice to new governments, if they asked for it.
“I want to congratulate Nikos Christodoulides on his electoral victory and wish him more power,” said Mavroyiannis. “It saddens me that we have not been able to meet the hopes and expectations for the big, progressive changes that our homeland needs.”
Christoulides inherits the challenge of reviving peace talks with the Turkish Cypriots, who declared independence nearly a decade after the 1974 Turkish invasion that followed a coup aimed at union with Greece.
Reunification of the island eluded politicians for more than half a century of negotiations, despite progress in the form of a comprehensive peace agreement.
On economic issues, Christodoulides said one of the priorities would be to maintain fiscal discipline without jeopardizing the country’s social security.
The president-elect also aims to accelerate the development of recently discovered natural gas fields off the southern coast of Cyprus as Europe grapples with an energy crisis.