NINE presidential hopefuls yesterday registered their candidacy for the February 17 presidential elections.
DIKO candidate President Tassos Papadopoulos, House President Demetris Christofias of AKEL, MEP Ioannis Kasoulides of DISY, his colleague at the European Parliament Marios Matsakis, and former Agriculture Minister Costas Themistocleous were first to show up for the procedure, which ended at noon.
The other four candidates are all independents: businessman Andreas Efstratiou, health researcher Anastasios Michael, businessman Christodoulos Neophytou and writer and farmer Costas Kyriacou Outopos.
As Elections Registrar Lazaros Savvides explained, the law provides that objections against any of the candidacies should have been made by 6 pm yesterday. He added that once that deadline had passed, the Interior Ministry’s Election Service would prepare the sample of the voting ballot, which will be examined on Monday with the participation of spokesmen for all the candidates.
Savvides also said that the number of candidacies was the second largest since independence. The most was recorded in 2003, when there were 10 candidates.
First to submit his candidacy was incumbent President Papadopoulos, who was proposed by political veteran Vassos Lyssarides of EDEK.
Speaking to reporters after registering, Papadopoulos said it was very emotional and touching to be putting his candidacy forward for the judgement of the people. He added that his official application guaranteed his commitment to evaluate all the good he had achieved in his past five years as president and to improve it further.
“We will continue to seek the solution that we deserve, without backing down, and we can be optimistic. Our fate and our future are in our hands and I am certain that we will succeed,” Papadopoulos said.
The next major candidate was Christofias, who was proposed by his mother Anna, and was supported among others by former President Giorgos Vassiliou, who signed the relevant documents.
He told reporters that these moments were sacred for each member of the public and said he was emotional and touched at being a candidate.
He assured he would be putting all his power into finding a fair, viable and operational solution to the Cyprus problem based on principle. He thanked his mother to whom he said he owed a lot and who, like all mothers, was looking forward to the liberation of her country.
An hour later, DISY candidate Ioannis Kasoulides registered, after being proposed by former President Glafcos Clerides.
He said he was especially moved by the fact that Clerides – who lost his beloved wife Irene last year – was present at the registration, and this, he said, showed the utmost significance of these elections.
“All these different people, we are all connected by something big: the desire to move forward, to take Cyprus out of the dead ends, to upgrade its prestige and create a prospect for a better life for all citizens,” Kasoulides told waiting reporters.
“This will be the criteria for each Cypriot citizen in these elections: will we move forward or remain static at the dead-ends created in the past five years,” he added.
Later, Marios Matsakis arrived, proposed by the mother of his son Jacqueline Griva.
With his candidacy, he submitted a document for the solution of the Cyprus problem as he sees it. He added that these elections were a referendum for a solution.
He called on his fellow candidates to offer their exact ideas on how to resolve it.
Costas Themistocleous followed, saying that he wanted to see Cyprus turn a new page. He added that he believed Cyprus could be reunified and not partitioned.
