Publish Date: 13 February 2023 - 10:35

TEHRAN, Feb. 13 (MNA) – Nikos Christodoulides, a former foreign minister, has been elected the eighth president of Cyprus, beating the career diplomat Andreas Mavroyiannis in a high-stakes, closely fought race.

Christodoulides, 49, won 51.92 percent of the vote compared with 48.09 percent for his opponent, who had been backed by the leftist party AKEL, The Guardian reported.

A mere 15,041 ballots had divided the loser from the winner.

“Tonight a long but beautiful journey has come to an end,” said Mavroyiannis, a former chief negotiator in peace talks with Turkish Cypriots, conceding defeat.

“It gave me the opportunity to meet thousands of people and hopes and dreams for our country.”

MNA/PR