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Anastasiades Opens Lead in Cypriot Race

The DISY leader on the campaign trail
The DISY leader on the campaign trail

With Presidential elections closing in on Feb. 17, Cyprus’s right-wing opposition leader has widened his lead over his two main challengers, three polls showed, as voters looked for someone who could help right the country’s faltering economy after its banks were brought to near-ruin by their exposure to the Greek fiscal crisis.
Support for Nicos Anastasiades rose above 40 percent in two opinion polls by the Phileleftheros and the Kathimerini newspapers, while state broadcaster CyBC put his rating at 39.8 percent.
In all three cases, the polls showed at least a 15-point margin over his closest rival, Stavros Malas who, like Cyprus’s incumbent President Demetris Christofias, who isn’t running, is backed by the Communists.
Just over half a million Greek Cypriots are expected to make their choice for a President for a five-year term, with a runoff on Feb. 24 if the first round does not produce a winner with an outright majority. The winner will have to negotiate a bailout for the tiny economy with international lenders who want tough austerity measures in return.
Cyprus has a presidential system of government where the head of state wields executive power. Christofias, the EU’s only Communist leader, decided not to run again as the economy sank and he was unable to make any headway in reunification talks with Turkish Cypriots who unlawfully occupy the northern third of the island.
Christofias has seen his approval ratings plummet over his handling of the economy since he was elected in 2008. Anastasiades, 66, criticized the government for stalling on seeking international aid while the island was shut out of financial markets.
A massive munitions explosion in 2011 was widely blamed on state incompetence. A bailout package for Cyprus, which could potentially amount to 100 percent of its Gross Domestic Product, is expected by April.

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