Cypriots abroad show preference for Malas

Cypriots living abroad, who voted in today’s presidential elections in their country of abode, showed a preference for Stavros Malas, who ran as an independent candidate, backed by the main opposition Akel.

Malas got 40.81% of the votes cast in all 15 countries abroad where Cypriots voted.

Incumbent President Nicos Anastasiades got 31.78% of the vote and Democratic Party leader Nicolas Papadopoulos trailed behind with 20.86%.

Malas’ biggest percentage was recorded in Bulgaria with 74.77%, while Anastasiades’ largest overseas percentage was registered in Qatar with 43.37%.

Malas was favourite in European countries with higher percentages in Belgium, the UK, Greece, Sweden, The Netherlands, Germany, France, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic.

Anastasiades was first in the USA, Qatar, UAE, Bahrein and Saudi Arabia.

Anastasiades and Malas received 14 votes each, in one ballot box, a percentage of 34.15%.

Christos Christou of ELAM and Yiorgos Lillikas of the Citizens’ Alliance ranked fourth and fifth respectively.

Candidates Michalis Mina, President of the Justice Party, Charis Aristidou, Andreas Efstratiou and Christakis Kapiliotis also received votes from overseas Cypriots.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.