Incumbent Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades will face off against center-left, pro-reunification rival Stavros Malas in a runoff election after the first round of voting on Sunday.
Anastasiades, from the center-right Democratic Rally, won 35.5 percent of the vote, the Cyprus News Agency reported. That’s lower than the projections heading into the election. The runoff vote will be held next Sunday.
Malas, from the center-left Progressive Party of Working People, followed with 30.3 percent, higher than polls predicted leading up to the vote.
Malas beat out the conservative, populist Democratic Party candidate Nikolas Papadopoulos, who takes a harder line on terms for reunifying the island’s Greek and Turkish sides. Papadopoulos came in third, with a 25.7 percent share of the ballots.
Turnout was lower than usual for Cyprus, estimated to be just over 71 percent.
The results indicate Greek Cypriot voters remain in favor of ending the four-decade division with Turkish Cypriots, after talks broke down at the final stage last July.
Democratic Rally President Averof Neofytou said in a statement that the results gave Anastasiades a “strong mandate” and showed that Cypriots want to keep the country on the same course.
The Progressive Party’s Secretary-General Andrew Kyprianou, however, said the stronger than expected vote for Malas suggested a desire for a “change in direction.”
“Stavros Malas believes in unity, has credibility, is moderate and has the ability to synthesize different views,” Kyprianou said.
Both Anastasiades and Malas campaigned on the promise to return to peace talks with Turkish Cypriot President Mustafa Akıncı, whose government is only recognized internationally by Turkey.
Anastasiades, long seen as an advocate for reunification, was accused of walking away from the discussions last year out of concern that he would lose conservative voters. However, he and his team pointed the finger at Ankara, saying Turkey was unwilling to accept terms for quickly withdrawing troops and relinquishing influence over the Turkish Cypriot side.
Malas also pledged to meet Akıncı and swiftly finalize the existing deal. Papadopoulos said he would rescind some of Anastasiades’ proposals and demand an immediate withdrawal from Turkey, as opposed to the gradual change Turkish Cypriots favor.
Anastasiades, however, has a stronger economic record than Malas. The Progressive Party is blamed by critics for leading Cyprus into the financial crisis, while Anastasiades is widely credited with pulling it into recovery.