Cypriot presidential election, 2013

Cypriot presidential election, 2013
Cyprus
17 and 24 February 2013
 
Nominee Nicos Anastasiades Stavros Malas
Party DISY AKEL
Popular vote 236,965 175,267
Percentage 57.48% 42.52%
President before election

Demetris Christofias
AKEL

 President-elect

Nicos Anastasiades
DISY

Cyprus
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Cyprus

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Presidential elections were held in Cyprus on 17 February 2013. A runoff was held on 24 February 2013. Nicos Anastasiades of Democratic Rally won the election.[1] The other candidates were Stavros Malas of the Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL); Praxoula Antoniadou of the United Democrats; Lakis Ioannou with the support of LASOK; Loukas Stavrou; ELAM's Giorgos Charalambous, Giorgos Lillikas of Movement for Social Democracy (EDEK); and independents Andreas Efstratiou, Makaria-Andri Stylianou, Kostas Kyriacou(Outopos) and Solon Gregoriou.[2][3] Although the president Demetris Christofias was not term-limited, he did not seek re-election in 2013.[4]

Timeline of the 2013 presidential election

2012

February

March

April

June

July

August

September

October

November

2013

January

February

Announcements of candidates and supports for the first round

DISY

The first candidate who confirmed the intention to be the candidate of his party was DISY's Nicos Anastasiades on 11 February 2012 at the Pancypriot Convention of the party. The Supreme Council of DISY (on 17 February) had to choose between Nicos Anastasiades and MEP, Eleni Theocharous. The Council voted in favour of Nicos Anastasiades with 673 votes (86.73%) and Eleni Theocharous with 103 votes (13.27%).[5]

AKEL

When president Christofias decided not to be seeking re-election for February 2013, in late July AKEL's Central Committee decided to suggest Minister of Health Stavros Malas to be the candidate of the party. On 21 July 2012 the Pancypriot Convention of AKEL voted in favour of Stavros Malas with 1183 votes (92.3%), against 81 (6.3%) and 17 abstentions (1.3%). Stavros Malas confirmed his candidacy with the support of AKEL on 7 September. On 15 October he resigned as Minister of Health .

Coalition attempt – EDEK

After a failed attempt by DIKO, Evroko, Ecological and Environmental Movement and EDEK to form a coalition, known as Intermediate political space (gr:Ενδιάμεσος πολιτικός χώρος- Endiamesos politikos horos), EDEK decided to back independent candidate Giorgos Lillikas ( who had already confirmed his candidacy on 6 April) on 27 July at the Central Committee of the party.

DIKO

DIKO had two plans on the table. The first was to back Nicos Anastasiades and the second to back a candidate from DIKO. After the talks on 30 August between Nicos Anastasiades and the president of DIKO Marios Garoyian, the two leaders agreed for corporation. On 25 September the Executive Bureau of DIKO officially suggested the Central Committee to back Anastasiades. At the Central Committee on 27 September 117 members voted in-favour of Anastasiades (81.9%), 27 against and 2 abstained.[6] The two parties had also talks with other parties such as Evroko and the Ecological and Environmental Movement to create and broaden a coalition of "National Unity".

Evroko

Evroko was between to choose either Anastasiades or Lillikas. On 27 September (DIKO's decision day) president of Evroko Demetris Sillouris, had talks with Nicos Anastasiades and most possible scenario was to back DISY. Although, on 17 October Evroko's Executive Bureau decided not to back any of the candidates.[7] At the Central Council, on 3 November, it had to be decided either the acceptance of EB's decision or denial. 75% of the members of the party voted in-favour of EB's decision and 25% against. The members can vote any of the two candidates (Lillikas-Anastasiades) they want.

Ecological and Environmental Movement

The Movement's Convention was held on 7 October. The members had the opportunity to decide which candidate would be backed by the Movement. The results were split between Lillikas and Anastasiades. Lillikas got 45% and Anastasiades 40%. An electoral conference was scheduled to be held on 4 November where the decision was going to be determined. The Movement would back the candidate who obtained 60% of the vote. Although no candidate obtained 60% of the vote and so the voters of the Movement can vote any of the candidates they want.(like Evroko did)

Candidates and supporting parties

Eleven candidates were approved to participate in the elections. Each candidate had to be recommended by one Cypriot citizen and supported by eight more.

1st round

All the names of the candidates were announced on 18 January.[8] The names are:

2nd round

Announcements of supports for the second round

Evroko

After the elimination of Giorgos Lillikas in the first round, Evroko decided to back Nicos Anastasiades.[9]

Ecological and Environmental Movement

The Movement chose to keep the first decision.[10]

EDEK

When Lillikas didn't pass to the second round, the Executive Bureau decided not to endorse any of the remaining candidates. In contrast with EDEK, the Party of European Socialists (mother European political party of EDEK) endorsed Malas.[11] This endorsement brought anger to some EDEK's MP.

Orthodox Church of Cyprus

The Archbishop of the Church of Cyprus, Chrysostomos II, endorsed Nicos Anastasiades at the second round.[12]

Main topics

Debates

Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation had talks with all the spokespersons of the candidates. Lillikas and Malas wanted four debates, three before the first round and one before the second. Anastasiades wanted three (two for the first round and one for the second) because he believed that four debates would "harm the image" of the candidates. In a meeting with spokespersons of four large Cypriot media networks (Mega, ANT1, Sigma, RIK), it was proposed to hold five debates. In two debates all candidates would participate. The other three debates would be double, which means that they would be between two participants (Anastasiades-Malas, Malas-Lillikas, Anastasiades-Lillikas).[13] However, on 7 November it was decided that three debates were going to be held before the first round and one before a possible second round.[14]

The debates were held on 14 and 28 January and 11 February. The fourth and last presidential debate was held on 22 February. The structure of the debates was:

Guinness World Records logo dispute

On 29 January, the independent candidate Andreas Efstratiou was accused (by an anonymous citizen) of using the logo of Guinness World Records without the permission of the Corporation.[15] The logo was printed on the ballot slip of the election. Efstratiou has been a holder of a Guinness World Record since 2007, when he created the longest wedding-gown train in the world. All the 545,180 ballot slips were destroyed and new ballot slips, without the logo, were printed. It was announced that €40,000 were wasted. The Central Electoral Service asked Efstratiou to pay at least €15,000. He refused, stating that he had 8 children and cannot afford the cost.

Opinion polls

A collection of opinion polls taken before the elections is listed below. After 9 February 2013, no opinion poll was allowed to be published.

Polling Firm Source Date Published N.Anastasiades G.Lillikas S.Malas Others
RAI Consultants 16 September 2012
37.2%
14.2%
21.9%
1.5%
Evresis 18 September 2012
35.2%
17.5%
19.7%
1.7%
Noverna 23 September 2012
35.02%
15.81%
17.78%
Prime Consulting Ltd 7 October 2012
34.7%
17.4%
18.5%
CMR Cypronetwork / Cybc 18 October 2012
36.9%
17%
23.8%
1.2%
Evresis 2 November 2012
36.9%
17.7%
20.6%
1.4%
RAI Consultants 4 November 2012
38.8%
19.8%
21.1%
2.3%
CMR Cypronetwork / Cybc 15 November 2012
36.8%
18.9%
22.8%
1.6%
Prime Consulting Ltd 18 November 2012
35.9%
18.7%
19.6%
0.6%
Evresis 27 November 2012
37.1%
19.6%
20.8%
0.6%
Noverna 2 December 2012
35.6%
17.2%
18.1%
4.1%
Prime Consulting Ltd 3 December 2012
35%
19.1%
18.6%
1.4%
CMR Cypronetwork / Cybc 17 December 2012
37.1%
20.4%
23.1%
3.1%
Evresis 22 December 2012
37.4%
19.8%
21.8%
0.5%
RAI Consultants Ltd 13 January 2013
40.3%
17.9%
20.5%
6.1%
CMR Cypronetwork / Cybc 17 January 2013
38%
19.7%
23.7%
2.7%
Prime Consulting Ltd 27 January 2013
39.2%
18.8%
19.8%
4%
Evresis 1 February 2013
40.8%
19.9%
22.2%
2.5%
Prime Consulting Ltd 4 February 2013
39.8%
19.3%
20%
3%
Prime Consulting Ltd 9 February 2013
40.6%
19.6%
20.4%
2.9%
RAI Consultants Ltd 9 February 2013
42.1%
19.4%
21.1%
4.4%
CMR Cypronetwork / Cybc 9 February 2013
39.9%
20.2%
24.2%
3%
Average (only valid votes) – –
48.4%
22.52%
25.29%
3.79%

Comparative results (only valid votes)

RAI Consultants
Date Published N.Anastasiades G.Lillikas S.Malas Others
16/9 49.73% 18.98% 29.28% 2%
4/11 47.32% 24.15% 25.73% 2.8%
13/1 47.52% 21.11% 24.17% 7.19%
8/2 48.39% 22.3% 24.25% 5.05%
Average 48.24% 21.64% 25.85% 4.26%
Evresis
Date Published N.Anastasiades G.Lillikas S.Malas Others
18/9 47.5% 23.62% 26.59% 2.29%
2/11 48.17% 23.11% 26.9% 1.83%
27/11 47.5% 25.1% 26.63% 0.77%
22/12 47.04% 24.91% 27.42% 0.63%
1/2 47.78% 23.3% 26% 2.92%
Average 47.6% 24% 26.71% 1.69%
Noverna
Date Published N.Anastasiades G.Lillikas S.Malas Others
23/9 51.04% 23.04% 25.91%
2/12 47.47% 22.93% 24.13% 5.46%
Average 49.25% 23% 25.02% 2.73%
Prime Consulting Ltd
Date Published N.Anastasiades G.Lillikas S.Malas Others
7/10 49.15% 24.65% 26.2%
18/11 48% 25% 26.2% 0.8%
3/12 47.23% 25.78% 25.1% 1.89%
27/1 47.92% 22.98% 24.21% 4.89%
4/2 48.48% 23.51% 24.36% 3.65%
9/2 48.62% 23.47% 24.43% 3.47%
Average 48.23% 24.23% 25.08% 2.45%
CMR Cypronetwork/Cybc
Date Published N.Anastasiades G.Lillikas S.Malas Others
18/10 46.77% 21.55% 30.16% 1.52%
15/11 45.94% 23.6% 28.46% 2%
17/12 44.32% 24.37% 27.6% 3.7%
17/1 45.18% 23.42% 28.18% 3.21%
9/2 45.7% 23.14% 27.72% 3.44%
Average 45.58% 23.22% 28.42% 2.77%

Results and reaction

Further information: Anastasiades Government

On 24 February, Nicos Anastasiades won the presidential election with 57.48% of the vote;[16] his opponent Stavros Malas received the remaining 42.52%. Of 545,000 eligible voters, 412,000 cast a ballot for one of the two candidates. In addition, the 81% turnout was lower than expected.[17] It is believed that many people cast blank ballots or refused to vote out of protest.[18] A week earlier, Anastasiades had won 45% of the first round vote with Malas receiving 27%, necessitating a second round of voting since no candidate received a strong majority of the votes. In that round, Giorgos Lillikas won 24% of the vote and eight minor candidates received under 1% each.[19]

Anastasiades' victory led to celebrations in the nation's capital of Nicosia and boosted hopes of reaching a financial bailout deal with international banks.[18] Economist Stelios Platis remarked "I would expect the markets, and business, to welcome Anastasiades's victory because he knows the rules of the game very well."[17] However, political analyst Alexander White said immediate resolution to Cyprus' debt problems was unlikely.[20] Agence France-Presse remarked that Anastasiades represented a stark contrast to the outgoing government and speculated that "his perceived bias towards big business may put him on a collision course with influential and powerful trade unions".[21] In his concession speech, Malas pledged to support Anastasiades "in actions and politics that we believe are followed for the good of the country".[20]

Anastasiades was sworn in on 28 February 2013 and assumed power on 1 March.[17]

 Summary of the 17-24 February 2013 Cypriot presidential election results
Candidate and nominating parties 1st round 2nd round
Votes % Votes %
Nicos Anastasiades - DISY 200,591 45.46 236,965 57.48
Stavros Malas - AKEL 118,755 26.91 175,267 42.52
Giorgos Lillikas - EDEK 109,996 24.93
Giorgos Charalambous - ELAM 3,899 0.88
Praxoula Antoniadou - EDI 2,678 0.61
Makaria-Andri Stylianou - Independent 1,898 0.43
Lakis Ioannou - LASOK 1,278 0.29
Solon Gregoriou - Independent 792 0.18
Kostas Kyriacou - Independent 722 0.16
Andreas Efstratiou - Independent 434 0.10
Loukas Stavrou - Independent 213 0.05
Valid votes 441,212 100.00 412,232 100.00
Blank votes 4,460 0.98 18,040 4.05
Invalid votes 7,826 1.73 14,737 3.31
Turnout (out of 545,491 registered votes) 453,498 83.14 445,009 81.58
Source: Cypriot Government (http://www.ekloges.gov.cy)

Results (by district)

1st round
Anastasiades
  
 45.46%
Malas
  
 26.91%
Lillikas
  
 24.93%
Others
  
 2.70%
2nd round
Anastasiades
  
 57.48%
Malas
  
 42.52%
1st round
Anastasiades
  
 45.08%
Malas
  
 25.87%
2nd round
Anastasiades
  
 58.47%
Malas
  
 41.53%
1st round
Anastasiades
  
 55.66%
Malas
  
 26.35%
2nd round
Anastasiades
  
 63.89%
Malas
  
 36.11%
1st round
Anastasiades
  
 45.50%
Malas
  
 33.14%
2nd round
Anastasiades
  
 54.26%
Malas
  
 45.74%
1st round
Anastasiades
  
 46.20%
Malas
  
 25.68%
2nd round
Anastasiades
  
 57.76%
Malas
  
 42.24%
1st round
Anastasiades
  
 38.44%
Malas
  
 22.32%
2nd round
Anastasiades
  
 54.98%
Malas
  
 45.02%
1st round
Anastasiades
  
 45.53%
Malas
  
 31.90%
2nd round
Anastasiades
  
 55.11%
Malas
  
 44.89%

References

  1. ↑ Elections in Cyprus IFES
  2. ↑ Evripidou, Stefanos (12 June 2012). "New face on the block in run for President 2013". Cyprus Mail. Archived from the original on 8 April 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  3. ↑ "AKEL chose Malas as their candidate for President Election in 2013". North Cyprus Daily. 22 June 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  4. ↑ "End of the road for Christofias – President will not seek re-election". Famagusta Gazette. 14 May 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  5. ↑ "Supreme Council of DISY". Youtube.com. 2012-03-17. Retrieved 2013-02-25.
  6. ↑ (PDF) http://www.sigmalive.com/files/filefield/8/0/2/simerini_16092012.pdf. Missing or empty |title= (help) Page 11 DEAL between DIKO and DISY
  7. ↑ (PDF) http://www.sigmalive.com/files/filefield/3/8/8/Simerini18102012.pdf. Missing or empty |title= (help) Executive Bureau says NO to back a presidential candidate
  8. ↑ http://www.kathimerini.com.cy/index.php?pageaction=kat&modid=1&artid=119808. Missing or empty |title= (help)Candidates and their supporting people and parties
  9. ↑ "Πάει γι’ Αναστασιάδη το ΕΥΡΩΚΟ". Sigma Live. 2013-02-19. Retrieved 2013-02-25.
  10. ↑ Κατά βούληση και στο 2ο γύρο οι Οικολόγοι
  11. ↑ "Υπέρ της υποψηφιότητας του Σταύρου Μαλά το Ευρωπαϊκό Σοσιαλιστικό Κόμμα". iKypros. Retrieved 2013-02-25.
  12. ↑ "Κύπρος: Ο αρχιεπίσκοπος Χρυσόστομος υποστηρίζει το Νίκο Αναστασιάδη". kathimerini.gr. Retrieved 2013-02-25.
  13. ↑ "Debates -Phileleftheros newspaper". Retrieved 2013-02-25.
  14. ↑ Decision for the debates
  15. ↑ "Gaffe with the ballot slips". Kathimerini.com.cy. 2013-01-20. Retrieved 2013-02-25.
  16. ↑ "Final results: conservative Anastasiades wins Cyprus presidential election with 57.48 percent". 24 February 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  17. 1 2 3 "Cypriot conservative romps to presidential victory". Reuters. 24 February 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  18. 1 2 "Conservative Triumphs in Cyprus Presidential Election". 24 February 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  19. ↑ "Cypriot Government". Ekloges.gov.cy. Retrieved 2013-02-25.
  20. 1 2 Georgiou, Georgios; Tugwell, Paul (24 February 2013). "Cyprus Picks Anastasiades as President to Fix Crisis-Hit Economy". Bloomberg. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  21. ↑ Charalambous, Charlie (24 February 2013). "Bruiser Anastasiades, new Cyprus president". Retrieved 24 February 2013.

External links

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