Rival candidates too close to call before Sunday’s election on the divided Mediterranean island
A mood of hushed optimism pervades the campaign headquarters of Andreas Mavroyiannis. A week ago, success might have looked inconceivable for the leftist-backed career diplomat once seen as the outsider in the race to become the eighth leader of Cyprus.
But in a presidential race that has turned into an unexpected thriller, Mavroyiannis’s campaign has gained surprising momentum. In the building’s sparsely furnished meeting room it is not defeat but victory that suddenly seems possible for a man who has made reunification of the ethnically split island and cleaning up its corruption-addled image key themes of his candidacy.
