Cypriot presidential election, 2003

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Cypriot presidential election, 2003

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  Tassos Papadopoulos.jpg Noimage.png
Nominee Tassos Papadopoulos Glafcos Clerides
Party DIKO DISY
Popular vote213,353160,724
Percentage51.51%38.80%
President before election

Glafcos Clerides
DISY

Elected President

Tassos Papadopoulos
DIKO

Cyprus
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Cyprus

Presidential elections were held in Cyprus on 16 February 2003. The election was dominated by the ongoing negotiations over the Annan Plan for Cyprus. Incumbent President Glafkos Klerides was largely in favour of the plan, while leading opposition candidate Tassos Papadopoulos wanted substantial amendments before he would accept it. Papadopoulos won the election in the first round after winning over 51% of the vote. Voter turnout was 90.5%. [1]

Cyprus Island country in Mediterranean

Cyprus, officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the Eastern Mediterranean and the third largest and third most populous island in the Mediterranean, located south of Turkey, west of Syria and Lebanon, northwest of Israel, north of Egypt, and southeast of Greece.

The incumbent is the current holder of an office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent(s). For example, in the Hungarian presidential election, 2017, János Áder was the incumbent, because he had been the president in the term before the term for which the election sought to determine the president. A race without an incumbent is referred to as an open seat.

Contents

Candidates

On 3 January 2003 the incumbent President Glafkos Klerides said that he would be standing for re-election in the upcoming presidential election, after previously saying he would not stand again. [2] [3] Klerides, from the Democratic Rally party, had been elected in 1993 and 1998 and called for Cypriots to elect him for a further limited 16 months as president to give him time to try to reach a deal with Turkish Northern Cyprus on reunifying the island. [2] He wanted other candidates to unite behind him and agree to form a national unity government to try to reach a settlement; however, this was not agreed to by his opponents. [2]

Democratic Rally political party

The Democratic Rally, is a conservative, Christian-democratic political party in Cyprus led by Averof Neofytou. The party was founded on 4 July 1976 by veteran politician Glafcos Clerides. Clerides served as the president of Cyprus from 1993 until 2003.

Northern Cyprus limited-recognition state on the Island of Cyprus

Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, is a de facto state that comprises the northeastern portion of the island of Cyprus. Recognised only by Turkey, Northern Cyprus is considered by the international community to be part of the Republic of Cyprus.

A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example:

Klerides' main opponent was expected to be Tassos Papadopoulos, leader of the Democratic Party. [4] Papadopoulos was seen as being more hardline in negotiations with the Turkish Cypriots and had previously accused Klerides of selling out the interests of Greek Cypriots in negotiations. [5] Papadopoulos was backed by the biggest party in Cyprus, the communist Progressive Party of Working People and had been clear favourite in the election until Klerides announced he would stand again. [4]

Tassos Papadopoulos president of Cyprus

Efstathios "Tassos" Nikolaou Papadopoulos was a Cypriot politician and barrister who served as the fifth President of Cyprus from February 28, 2003 to February 28, 2008.

Democratic Party (Cyprus) political party in Cyprus

The Democratic Party is a Greek-Cypriot nationalist, centrist political party in Cyprus founded in 1976 by Spyros Kyprianou.

Progressive Party of Working People political party

The Progressive Party of Working People is a Marxist–Leninist, communist political party in Cyprus.

Klerides' campaign was hurt by the decision of his close aide and attorney general Alecos Markides to also stand in the election as an independent. [4] [6] Markides was standing as he believed Cyprus needed a younger, more modern, leader than the 83-year-old Klerides. [6] [7] His candidacy however was seen as likely to split the support of centre-right voters and thus assist Papadopoulos in the election. [4]

In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general (traditional) or attorney generals.

Alekos Markidis was born in Nicosia and studied law in Athens in 1966. He was elected member of the Cypriot parliament from 1985 until 1995. He served as Attorney-General from 1995-2003.

A further seven candidates stood in the election including one, Costas Kyriacou, calling for free love. [8] [9] [10]

Free love Social movement

Free love is a social movement that accepts all forms of love. The Free Love movement's initial goal was to separate the state from sexual matters such as marriage, birth control, and adultery. It claimed that such issues were the concern of the people involved, and no one else.

Campaign

Opinion polls during the campaign showed Papadopoulos with a significant lead over Klerides. [11] The ongoing negotiations over the Annan Plan for Cyprus dominated the campaign with Klerides being seen as more favourable to the plan than many voters and this contributed to the more sceptical Papadopoulos pulling ahead. [12] Papadopoulos called for the Annan plan to be amended and said that Klerides was giving away too much in negotiations. [13] However Papadopoulos emphasized that he would negotiate for a deal if he was elected and ran television adverts which attempted to reduce voter concerns over his previous nationalist stance. [5]

Opinion poll type of survey

An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a poll or a survey, is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of questions and then extrapolating generalities in ratio or within confidence intervals.

Political campaign attempt to influence the decision making process within a specific group

A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making process within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referendums are decided. In modern politics, the most high-profile political campaigns are focused on general elections and candidates for head of state or head of government, often a president or prime minister.

Television advertisement Paid commercial segment on television

A television advertisement is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message, aimed to market a product or service. Advertisers and marketeers may refer to television commercials as TVCs.

The election campaign was low key with Klerides refusing to campaign for the election. [7] On the day before the election the final polls showed Papadopoulos with a 12% lead over Klerides, with a reasonable chance of winning over 50% of the vote and avoiding the need for a second round. [14]

Results

The results saw Papadopoulos winning over 51% of the vote compared to almost 39% for Klerides, meaning that he was elected in the first round. [15] Markides trailed in third place with 6.6% of the vote, [16] while Kyriakou won 0.44% but claimed that he really won 73%. [9] Voting was compulsory and so voter turnout was high [17] at over 90%.

The leader of Turkish North Cyprus Rauf Denktash described the result as disappointing but Papadopoulos said he would begin talks on the United Nations plan within a few days of the election. [18]

CandidatePartyVotes%
Tassos Papadopoulos AKEL/DIKO 213,35351.51
Glafkos Klerides Democratic Rally 160,72438.80
Alecos Markides Independent 27,4046.62
Nicos Koutsou New Horizons 8,7712.12
Costas Kyriacou Independent1,8400.44
Andreas Efstratiou Independent6060.15
Adamos Katsantonis Independent5580.13
Christos Iosifides Independent3910.09
Georgios Mavrogenis Independent3370.08
Pantelis Sofokleous Independent2090.05
Invalid/blank votes17,497–
Total431,690100
Source: results.elections.moi.gov.cy

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References

  1. ↑ Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p447 ISBN   978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. 1 2 3 Jansen, Michael (2003-01-04). "Cypriot President seeking 16-month limited mandate". The Irish Times. p. 9.
  3. ↑ "Cyprus president seeks re-election". BBC Online . 2003-01-03. Retrieved 28 May 2009.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Cyprus poll confusion may hit UN unity plan: Challenge to president by attorney-general could split ruling party in the south". Financial Times. 2003-01-06. p. 5.
  5. 1 2 "Poll frontrunner sheds tough image on Cyprus: Spotlight falls on the island's peace deal in Sunday's election, write Kerin Hope and Andreas Hadjipapas". Financial Times. 2003-02-14. p. 9.
  6. 1 2 "Nervous in Nicosia: Cyprus may never have a better chance of a deal". Financial Times. 10 January 2003. p. 16.
  7. 1 2 Morgan, Tabitha (2003-02-17). "Defeat for Clerides clouds Cyprus deal". The Daily Telegraph. p. 12.
  8. ↑ "10 candidates for Cyprus presidency". The Irish Times. 18 January 2003. p. 13.
  9. 1 2 "Poll candidate champions free love in Cyprus". The Independent . 16 May 2006. Retrieved 28 May 2009.
  10. ↑ "Cypriots speed up talks". Kathimerini . 18 January 2003. Retrieved 28 May 2009.
  11. ↑ "Search for national symbols to unite Cyprus". Financial Times. 2003-01-24. p. 10.
  12. ↑ Steele, Jonathan (2003-01-28). "UN calls for a flag to unite Cyprus". The Guardian. p. 17.
  13. ↑ "Greek Cypriot opposition leader sweeps to shock election victory". The Scotsman. 2003-02-17. p. 11.
  14. ↑ Smith, Helena (2003-02-15). "Election holds key to peace in Cyprus: Defeat of veteran leader may threaten reunification moves". The Guardian. p. 18.
  15. ↑ Theodoulou, Michael (2003-02-17). "Opposition leader wins race for Greek Cypriot presidency". The Times. p. 16.
  16. ↑ "Defeat of Clerides clouds hopes for Cyprus agreement GREEK CYPRIOT ELECTION UNEXPECTEDLY EASY VICTORY FOR PAPADOPOULOS". Financial Times. 2003-02-17. p. 7.
  17. ↑ Jansen, Michael (2003-02-17). "Opposition victorious in Cyprus election". The Irish Times. p. 7.
  18. ↑ "New Cypriot leader 'eager' for talks". BBC Online . 2003-02-18. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
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