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Greek Cypriots to go to polls Sunday in close elections

Other News Materials 16 February 2008 12:26 (UTC +04:00)

(dpa) - Greek Cypriots will head to the polls in Sunday's presidential election which could help resume stalled peace talks on the divided Mediterranean island.

With nine candidates in the run, polls have hinted at a close race between three main contenders.

They are incumbent Tassos Papadopoulos, 74, who led the southern part of the island to reject a 2004 United Nations peace plan, and main rivals Demetrios Christofias, 61, of the AKEL communist party as well as right-winger Ioannis Kasoulides of the conservative DISY.

If none of the candidates receive at least 50 per cent of votes then the election is likely to be settled in a February 24 run-off.

Analysts say the vote will be a neck-and-neck race, with a runoff expected on February 24.

The elections are to take place just as UN mediators are planning a last shot at a peace plan intended to mend the divisions between Greek and Turkish Cypriots on opposite sides of a ceasefire line that has split the island for the past 35 years.

The ongoing conflict has been a thorn in relations between NATO allies Greece and Turkey and has served as an obstacle to Turkey's efforts to join the European Union.

All three main candidates claim to be the best qualified to head negotiations with the Turkish Cypriot community, which has been isolated ever since Turkey invaded the northern third of the island in 1974.

Seen as much more of a hardliner than his main rivals, Papadopoulos led the opposition to the plan promoted by then UN secretary general Kofi Annan, saying it would lead to a permanent partition of the island.

Since the 2004 referendum, Papadopoulos has made no real attempt to break the deadlock, and recently said he would oppose any effort to revive a UN plan to reunite the island if he is re-elected.

Unlike Christofias, who has said he would follow a "friendship offensive" towards the breakaway Turkish-Cypriot community, Papadopoulos has opted for a slower approach based on confidence- building measures.

Kasoulides, a former foreign minister and now a member of the European Parliament, has promised a more hands-on approach to the Cyprus problem.

During his election campaign, he pledged to pursue talks with Turkish Cypriots and gather an international panel of experts to seek a reunification deal.

The issue of reunification has always dominated Cypriot elections, but this time the issue has gained a sense of urgency as many Greek Cypriots believe new UN-led negotiations may be the island's last chance to end the division.

Some 516,000 voters, including 390 Turkish Cypriots living in the south, are registered to vote.

The president is elected for a 5-year term and is seen as the head of the Cypriot government.

Polling stations are to open at 7am (0500 GMT) and close at 5pm (1500 GMT).

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