Voting starts for Cyprus' presidency, with 3 front-runners

NICOSIA: Cypriots on Sunday began voting for their eighth president in the ethnically divided island's 63-year history as an independent republic, with three front-runners each portraying themselves as the safest bet to guide the country through turbulent economic times and to seek peace with breakaway Turkish Cypriots.

Opinion polls indicate that none of the three — all of whom have been close associates of outgoing President Nicos Anastasiades — will muster more than half of the votes, which is the bar for an outright win in the first round. Instead, the top two will likely move forward to a runoff in a week's time. Some 561,000 citizens are eligible to vote.

Averof Neophytou, 61, who took over the leadership of the country's largest Democratic Rally party from Anastasiades has banked on his message as a veteran insider and the steadiest hand to ensure stability in times fraught with economic uncertainty.

Career diplomat Andreas Mavroyiannis, 66, who served under Anastasiades as his chief negotiator in peace talks with Turkish Cypriots, has appealed to voters disgruntled with a decade of Anastasiades' rule, especially members of the communist-rooted AKEL party that's supporting his candidacy.

Nikos Christodoulides, 49, a former government spokesman and foreign minister who has consistently led all opinion polls throughout the monthslong campaign, is running as the candidate who can bridge party affiliations and ideological fault lines to unite a fractured electorate.

Opinion polls have consistently shown Christodoulides will head into the runoff against either Mavroyiannis or Neophytou.

Cypriots will expect the new president to quickly move to buttress an economy buffeted by Russia's war in Ukraine and its knock-on effect on the cost of living.

Migration has also been a hot-button issue amid a continued massive influx of migrants that has made Cyprus one of the top EU countries in terms of asylum applications per capita.

Capitalising on Cyprus' offshore natural gas deposits amid an energy crunch and getting back to the negotiating table with breakaway Turkish Cypriots to resolve the island's ethnic cleave are also priority issues.