Incumbent Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades was the top finisher on Sunday’s first round of presidential elections, but failed to garner a majority of votes needed to avoid a runoff.

The conservative leader will face Stavros Malas, an independent candidate backed by Communist party AKEL, in a runoff on Feb. 4. Mr. Anastasiades was leading all the opinion polls in the run-up to the vote. He said that this second 5-year term in office would be his last if he is re-elected. </s> NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The Latest on the presidential election in Cyprus: (all times local):

Incumbent Nicos Anastasiades has defeated challenger Stavros Malas by a significant margin in Cyprus' presidential election.

State-run broadcaster RIK said Malas telephoned Anastasiades about an hour after polls closed to concede defeat.

With nearly all votes from Sunday's runoff election counted, Anastasiades had a 12-point lead over Malas.

It's the second time in a row that Anastasiades, a conservative veteran politician, has defeated the left-leaning Malas in a head-to-head face for president..

Anastasiades' supporters in the capital, Nicosia, celebrated by honking car horns.

An exit poll predicts that Cyprus' conservative president has been re-elected to another five-year term, defeating a left-leaning independent for the second time.

The poll by state-run broadcaster RIK showed President Nicos Anastasiades receiving 54.5-59.5 percent of the vote in Sunday's election, compared with 40.5-45.5 percent for Stavros Malas.

The polling is consistent with earlier opinion polls that had Anastasiades winning. But Malas' rising momentum in recent weeks showed him closing the gap with the incumbent.

Anastasiades, who is 71, says a second term will be his last. He has appealed to voters to trust his experience to keep the economy growing while pursuing a reunification deal with the island nation's breakaway Turkish Cypriots.

The 50-year-old Malas, who's backed by the communist-rooted AKEL party says he represents change amid a tired political system that short-changes ordinary Cypriots

A key variable in the second round of Cyprus' presidential election is what voters who supported neither candidate in the first round will do.

More than one-third of the first-round votes went to candidates other than incumbent President Nicos Anastasiades or independent Stavros Malas — and nearly 28 percent of the eligible 551,000 voters didn't cast ballots.

Many of the votes two weeks ago went to center-right DIKO party leader Nicholas Papadopoulos.

Papadopoulos took a tougher stance on reunification talks with breakaway Turkish Cypriots, accusing both Anastasiades and Malas of a willingness to make too many concessions.

DIKO and smaller parties that supported Papadopoulos' candidacy decided not to endorse either runoff candidate.

A conservative veteran is taking on a left-leaning independent in Cyprus' presidential runoff amid questions whether an agreement reunifying the ethnically divided island-nation can be found anytime soon.

The choice for some 551,000 eligible voters Sunday will also depend on which candidate they feel has made the most convincing pitch to deliver more benefits from a rebounding economy.

It's the second time incumbent President Nicos Anastasiades faces off against independent Stavros Malas in a runoff.

Earlier opinion polls have shown Anastasiades handily beating Malas, but the independent's strong showing in the first round could make it a closer race.

Anastasiades says Cyprus needs more of his experienced leadership to stay the course. Malas says change is needed to raise the standard of living.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> The Latest on the presidential election in Cyprus: (all times local):

An exit poll predicts that Cyprus' conservative president has been re-elected to another five-year term, defeating a left-leaning independent for the second time.

The poll by state-run broadcaster RIK showed President Nicos Anastasiades receiving 54.5-59.5 percent of the vote in Sunday's election, compared with 40.5-45.5 percent for Stavros Malas.

The polling is consistent with earlier opinion polls that had Anastasiades winning. But Malas' rising momentum in recent weeks showed him closing the gap with the incumbent.

Anastasiades, who is 71, says a second term will be his last. He has appealed to voters to trust his experience to keep the economy growing while pursuing a reunification deal with the island nation's breakaway Turkish Cypriots.

The 50-year-old Malas, who's backed by the communist-rooted AKEL party says he represents change amid a tired political system that short-changes ordinary Cypriots

A key variable in the second round of Cyprus' presidential election is what voters who supported neither candidate in the first round will do.

More than one-third of the first-round votes went to candidates other than incumbent President Nicos Anastasiades or independent Stavros Malas — and nearly 28 percent of the eligible 551,000 voters didn't cast ballots.

Many of the votes two weeks ago went to center-right DIKO party leader Nicholas Papadopoulos.

Papadopoulos took a tougher stance on reunification talks with breakaway Turkish Cypriots, accusing both Anastasiades and Malas of a willingness to make too many concessions.

DIKO and smaller parties that supported Papadopoulos' candidacy decided not to endorse either runoff candidate.

A conservative veteran is taking on a left-leaning independent in Cyprus' presidential runoff amid questions whether an agreement reunifying the ethnically divided island-nation can be found anytime soon.

The choice for some 551,000 eligible voters Sunday will also depend on which candidate they feel has made the most convincing pitch to deliver more benefits from a rebounding economy.

It's the second time incumbent President Nicos Anastasiades faces off against independent Stavros Malas in a runoff.

Earlier opinion polls have shown Anastasiades handily beating Malas, but the independent's strong showing in the first round could make it a closer race.

Anastasiades says Cyprus needs more of his experienced leadership to stay the course. Malas says change is needed to raise the standard of living. </s> NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The Latest on the presidential election in Cyprus: (all times local):

An exit poll predicts that Cyprus' conservative president has been re-elected to another five-year term, defeating a left-leaning independent for the second time.

The poll by state-run broadcaster RIK showed President Nicos Anastasiades receiving 54.5-59.5 percent of the vote in Sunday's election, compared with 40.5-45.5 percent for Stavros Malas.

The polling is consistent with earlier opinion polls that had Anastasiades winning. But Malas' rising momentum in recent weeks showed him closing the gap with the incumbent.

Anastasiades, who is 71, says a second term will be his last. He has appealed to voters to trust his experience to keep the economy growing while pursuing a reunification deal with the island nation's breakaway Turkish Cypriots.

The 50-year-old Malas, who's backed by the communist-rooted AKEL party says he represents change amid a tired political system that short-changes ordinary Cypriots

A key variable in the second round of Cyprus' presidential election is what voters who supported neither candidate in the first round will do.

More than one-third of the first-round votes went to candidates other than incumbent President Nicos Anastasiades or independent Stavros Malas — and nearly 28 percent of the eligible 551,000 voters didn't cast ballots.

Many of the votes two weeks ago went to center-right DIKO party leader Nicholas Papadopoulos.

Papadopoulos took a tougher stance on reunification talks with breakaway Turkish Cypriots, accusing both Anastasiades and Malas of a willingness to make too many concessions.

DIKO and smaller parties that supported Papadopoulos' candidacy decided not to endorse either runoff candidate.

A conservative veteran is taking on a left-leaning independent in Cyprus' presidential runoff amid questions whether an agreement reunifying the ethnically divided island-nation can be found anytime soon.

The choice for some 551,000 eligible voters Sunday will also depend on which candidate they feel has made the most convincing pitch to deliver more benefits from a rebounding economy.

It's the second time incumbent President Nicos Anastasiades faces off against independent Stavros Malas in a runoff.

Earlier opinion polls have shown Anastasiades handily beating Malas, but the independent's strong showing in the first round could make it a closer race.

Anastasiades says Cyprus needs more of his experienced leadership to stay the course. Malas says change is needed to raise the standard of living.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades, supported by right-wing party Democratic Rally, and communist AKEL-backed Stavros Malas will contest the run-off of the presidential election on the island, after the first round on Sunday showed Malas performing better than expected.

 

 With 100 percent of the votes counted across the Republic of Cyprus, Anastasiades garnered 35.5 percent, Malas collected 30.24 percent, centrist DIKO president Nikolas Papadopoulos took 25.74 percent, far-right candidate Christos Christou had 5.65 percent and center-left Citizens' Alliance president Giorgos Lillikas got 2.18 percent.

 

 The second round of the election is scheduled for next Sunday, February 4.

 

 Turnout for the first round was unusually low for a presidential election, at around 72 percent, against 83 percent in the previous election five years ago. Observers said the turnout was reminiscent of a parliamentary election, not a presidential poll that traditionally has a greater participation.

 

 Opinion polls before the first round had shown that in case Anastasiades and Malas were to contest the second round, Anastasiades would win by a margin of more than 12 percentage points.

 

 On the Cyprus question both Anastasiades and Malas favor the resumption of talks with the Turkish side under the auspices of the United Nations, with an aim for a bizonal, bicommunal federation. The other three candidates were against such a solution. </s> Nikos Anastasiades has been re-elected in the second round

The poll stations have closed and according to the exit polls Nikos Anastasiades has won Stavros Malas.

The exit polls give 54,5% – 59,5% to Nikos Anastasiades and 40,5% – 45,5% to Stavros Malas.

It seems that Nikos Anastasiades has been re-elected as President of Republic of Cyprus. </s> ATHENS (Reuters) - Incumbent Nicos Anastasiades was leading Cyprus’s presidential election on Sunday, exit polls showed, but is likely to fall short of an outright majority and face a run-off on Feb. 4.

An exit poll for public broadcaster CyBC put Anastasiades in the lead with between 38 percent and 42 percent of the vote, followed by left-wing independent Stavros Malas on 27-31 percent.

Centrist Nikolas Papadopoulos was seen taking between 21.5 percent and 24.5 percent of the vote. The poll was based on an 80 percent sample.

Other stations gave a mixed picture, suggesting the vote was too close to call.

The two leading candidates to emerge from Sunday’s election will have to seek support from the seven other candidates ahead of the Feb. 4 run-off vote. </s> Incumbent Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades defeated leftist challenger Stavros Malas and won another five-year term in a run-off election on Sunday.

The 71-year-old conservative won 55.9 percent of the vote with 95 percent of votes counted. Malas conceded an hour after the polls closed, Reuters reported. Malas, a 50-year-old geneticist who served as the republic's health minister in the former left-wing administration, had also come ran against Anastasiades in 2013.

But the suspense was tight. The office of the president of Cyprus is elected using a two-round voting system, and a first round saw Anastasiades win an inconclusive 34 percent of the vote and Malas win an unexpected 29 percent percent of the vote.

With all second round votes counted, Anastasiades won 56 percent of the vote against Malas' 44 percent.

The island in the Mediterranean has been divided since 1974, when "Turkish troops invaded following a Greek-backed coup," as NPR's Michele Kelemen has reported. The Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot communities are separated by a U.N. buffer zone, and "many attempts to reunite the island have failed."

The vote took place barely seven months after the latest round of peace talks ended abruptly.

Anastasiades steered the Cyprus' economy to recovery after a 2013 financial crisis, and has pledged to seek the resumption of U.N.-mediated peace talks.

"A new era begins tomorrow," Anastasiades told supporters outside of his election campaign headquarters, reported Al Jazeera. "People demand cooperation and unity because this is the only way to solve the problems we're facing." </s> Cypriots living abroad, who voted in today’s presidential elections in their country of abode, showed a preference for Stavros Malas, who ran as an independent candidate, backed by the main opposition Akel.

Malas got 40.81% of the votes cast in all 15 countries abroad where Cypriots voted.

Incumbent President Nicos Anastasiades got 31.78% of the vote and Democratic Party leader Nicolas Papadopoulos trailed behind with 20.86%.

Malas’ biggest percentage was recorded in Bulgaria with 74.77%, while Anastasiades’ largest overseas percentage was registered in Qatar with 43.37%.

Malas was favourite in European countries with higher percentages in Belgium, the UK, Greece, Sweden, The Netherlands, Germany, France, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic.

Anastasiades was first in the USA, Qatar, UAE, Bahrein and Saudi Arabia.

Anastasiades and Malas received 14 votes each, in one ballot box, a percentage of 34.15%.

Christos Christou of ELAM and Yiorgos Lillikas of the Citizens’ Alliance ranked fourth and fifth respectively.

Candidates Michalis Mina, President of the Justice Party, Charis Aristidou, Andreas Efstratiou and Christakis Kapiliotis also received votes from overseas Cypriots.
Cyprus is set to elect a new President in a second round of voting. Candidates include incumbent Nicos Anastasiades and AKEL candidate, Stavros Malas.