DISY Presidential candidate Ioannis Kasoulides said yesterday that the people’s choice on Sunday had “opened the path to unity and hope for our country”.
Kasoulides beat the odds and departing President Tassos Papadopoulos into the second round, finishing just ahead of AKEL candidate Demetris Christofias.
Expressing his gratitude to the 33.5 per cent of the electorate that voted for him, Kasoulides said his main concern was bringing a new beginning for all Cypriots.
“The things that unite us are far more than those that divide us,” he said. “We are united by the common desire for progress in our country; we are united by the national need for a fair and viable solution, a solution that will not be imposed from outside Cyprus, but will come from the Cyprus people themselves, who wish to live in peace, security and respect of its cultural identity in a unified and safe country.”
He added: “We are united by the need to protect our financial conquests, give development a new push, create new welfare opportunities for everyone, to support those in need and offer new prospects to the average Cypriot family, to create opportunities for young men and women who wish to build a future, but also the elderly, who need state support for the efforts of a lifetime.”
Kasoulides also assured his supporters that the commitments he had made during the pre-election period had become even more powerful, while he was fully aware of the responsibilities he would be taking on.
“Nobody wants to feel cornered and for this reason I am asking for the co-operation all of those who made a different choice in the first round,” the DISY candidate said, adding: “I look them straight in the eye, sincerely and responsibly, and I tell them to join us so we can move forward together. Let’s make a new start with the public in the fore. Our power is our unity. It is time we activated our social unity. Its time we made hope our country’s government policy.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday expressed her satisfaction at Kasoulides’ lead in the first round of the elections.
Speaking at a press conference in Berlin, she also expressed her desire to collaborate with whoever is eventually elected president this Sunday.
Merkel refused to comment when asked whether outgoing President Papadopoulos’ exclusion from re-election would open new positive prospects for a solution to the Cyprus problem.
“The Cyprus public has voted and it is not in my authority to comment,” she said, adding: “It is natural and obvious that someone would be happy for a sister party’s candidate to succeed politically.”
She concluded, “Any result [in the second round] is of course respected.”
