Nicosia-Sana
Former Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides topped the first round of the presidential elections that took place yesterday in the Republic of Cyprus.
And Agence France-Presse reported that Christodoulides, 49, won 32.04 percent of the vote, and will face in the second round, scheduled for February 12, Andreas Mavroyannis, who received 29.85 percent, according to official figures.
Thus, Avrov Neophyto, 61, exited the presidential race after he obtained 26.11 percent of the vote, in what is considered an unprecedented failure for the leader of the ruling Democratic Rally party, which supports him.
The Greek Cypriot electorate, numbering about 561,000 people, was able to choose between 14 candidates to succeed 67-year-old President Nicos Anastasiades.
Nikos Christodoulides was the country's foreign minister between 2018 and 2022, and he enjoys the support of centrist parties.
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