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Thursday, 19 December 2024
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Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 08-02-24Cyprus News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Cyprus News Agency at <http://www.cyna.org.cy>CONTENTS
[01] CHIEF RETURNING OFFICER - STATEMENTPolling stations reopened at 1300 local time (1100 GMT), having closed at 1200 for a one-hour break in Sunday`s run off presidential elections.The 1,159 polling stations will remain open until 1700 local time, when voting ends, followed by the counting of ballots. Chief Returning Officer Lazaros Savvides said the turnout by 1200 was 48.15% island-wide compared to 48.05% in the first round of elections on February 17. For Nicosia, the turnout was 48.1% compared to 49% on February 17, for Limassol 45% compared to 45.5%, for Famagusta 51.1% compared to 48%, for Larnaca 50.5% compared to 50.6%, and for Paphos 52.1% compared to 47.6%. Ioannis Kasoulides and Demetris Christofias have passed into the run off election for the presidency of the Republic, having secured most of the votes in the first round of the elections on February 17. A candidate needs to secure 50% plus one vote to be elected President. [02] KASOULIDES - VOTEPresidential candidate Ioannis Kasoulides said on Sunday he had complete faith in the conscience of the people of Cyprus who would place the interests of the country above their own. Speaking after casting his vote at a polling station in Nicosia, Kasoulides said that ``after a long pre-election campaign, I feel the need today, above all, to congratulate every Cypriot on their deep-rooted democratic conscience,`` adding that ``I have total confidence in their judgment because today it is the citizens who are deciding, everything is in their hands.``Kasoulides noted that ``no one can decide on their behalf,`` adding that it is for this reason that ``the citizens are placing the interests of their country above their own and are deciding by weighing these interests.`` ``They will decide if we will be moving forward in the heart of Europe, using all the structures and all the rights a member state enjoys for progress and prosperity, and in efforts to rid ourselves of the invasion and occupation`` by Turkey of Cyprus` northern third, Kasoulides said. He added that the citizens are deciding ``if we will move forward, defending the free market system with a social face, the financial system which we will enrich and enhance through the EU and if we are to move forward on the basis of the values, the principles and the tradition of our history and our civilisation.`` ``This is what is at stake today for all the citizens and it is in their hands to make a decision,`` Kasoulides said. [03] CHRISTOFIAS - VOTEPresidential candidate Demetris Christofias expressed his absolute respect for the decision of the people in Sunday`s run off presidential elections, adding that ``this time is sacred, it is the time when the people will decide who will be the President of the Republic for the next five years.`` Speaking after casting his vote at a polling station in Nicosia, Christofias said ``I bow before the people and express my absolute respect for their decision.````I shall not hide my feelings, I hope they decide in our favour. We have a vision, we unfolded it before the people, we have our struggles, our past, our everyday relationship with the people, in the effort to reunite our country. We want the country to be free of foreign troops, a Cyprus that will be truly independent, united, with the human rights of all the people guaranteed, the end of illegal immigration of Turkish settlers and the demilitarisation of the country. Our vision is a fairer society, in which man is the focus,`` he added. Christofias thanked all those who would vote for him and those who would not. ``We insist on expressing our decision in a civilised manner as free citizens of the Republic of Cyprus,`` he said. He furthermore sent a message of friendship towards the Turkish Cypriots, noting we have a joint struggle to reunite the country, be masters of our homeland, Greek and Turkish Cypriots together, without any interventions. Christofias thanked his party, AKEL, for making him what he is today and all the political parties and other groups that support his candidacy. The consolidation of division is detrimental for the country and the people. The main duty of every Cypriot who loves his country is to contribute, in a spirit of mutual understanding and on the basis of principles, towards freeing our homeland, reuniting the country and building a fairer and more humane society, he added. Replying to questions, Christofias said his vision was for ``all of us to roll up our sleeves, work hard and reunite our country.`` Cyprus News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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