THE ENVELOPE containing the 69 objections over the September 24 archbishopric election proceedings was submitted to the Holy Synod yesterday for examination by its members before the next Synod session on Thursday.
The Holy Synod gathered on Friday to ratify the results of the previous Sunday’s elections but was unable to confirm the election due to the large number of objections, primarily from the Kykkos Bishop, over voter irregularities relating to the handling of the ballet boxes and the counting of the votes.
The Bishops have until Thursday to examine the various objections before presenting their opinions at the next Synod meeting, where it is hoped progress will be made on the stalled electoral process.
Garnering 641 of the 1,400 special representatives, Limassol bishop Athanassios won the popular vote, with Nikiforos of Kykkos coming in second with 615. Acting Synod head Paphos bishop Chrysostomos secured 125 votes, while the Kiti Bishop managed to secure a mere 19 representatives, effectively eliminating him from the running.
The results were seen as a great victory for Athanassios – whose piety has won him a broad and devoted grassroots base – and a blow to Kykkos, who was unable to secure a first-round victory despite his tremendous wealth and the support of all parties, including communist AKEL.
Kykkos’ second-place standing was especially humiliating in light of an earlier Sigma television interview when he refused to answer a question about the implications of a tie in the popular vote, claiming that there was no need to speculate on the possibility since his imminent victory was assured.
The special representatives will vote for 100 electors, who will then cast a vote for the Archbishop. Based on the present status of the vote, it is believed that Kykkos and Athanassios will secure 45 electors each and the Paphos Bishop 10.
Parallel to the vote of the 100 Electors, 33 ex officio clerics will also be voting in a separate ballot. The elected Archbishop must secure an absolute majority (over 50 per cent) in both polls. In case this does not happen, the two ballots are combined and the winning candidate must secure over 50 per cent – at least 67 – of the 133 votes.
Should there again be no absolute majority, the Holy Synod will vote in a secret ballot. If a deadlock again takes place, the matter is left to God, as the faithful might say, and the new Primate is chosen by lottery.
It is expected that once the Sunday’s election results are confirmed, some or all of the contending bishops will form alliances in hopes of edging one another out of the race.
The 1,400 special representatives whom the public voted for are under no legal obligation to vote an Elector who supports the same candidate as they represent. This has led to expectations that the next electoral strategy might involve vote buying, something that would not come as any great surprise to the public, which has inured itself in recent years to a Cyprus Church rife with scandals and corruption.
Chief Elections Officer Ioannis Charilaou told state radio yesterday that the elections would not be cancelled in the case that the 100 Electors whom the 1,400 special representatives elect do not represent the candidates proportionally to that determined by the popular vote.
“Special representatives can choose whomever they want for a general representative [Elector]… regardless of whether he represents A or B. Nobody holds him legally responsible except that he belongs to a certain support group [of one of the bishops] and there is a certain ethical obligation,” he said.
Charilaou noted that the exact date when the Electors will be selected would be decided upon at Thursday’s Synod meeting.
