Runoff in Cyprus

The possibility is open of a new initiative to reunify Cyprus.

Cyprus' Democratic Party (DIKO), the island nation's third largest political party, has thrown its weight behind communist Demetris Christofias for Sunday’s presidential runoff, giving him a decisive edge over right-wing backed challenger Ioannis Kassoulides. Christofias has insisted that his first move as president will be to meet Mehmet Ali Talat, the Turkish Cypriot leader, with a view to relaunching UN-sponsored direct peace talks at the earliest possible date.

Gaining only 31.8%, President Tassos Papadopoulos -- the man some referred to as 'Mr No' for repeatedly stymying efforts by the international community to end the 34-year division of Cyprus -- was unexpectedly defeated in last week's first-round presidential election, the closest poll in the country's history. As reunification with the internationally isolated Turkish-speaking north was the dominant election issue, his defeat indicated voters' desire to overcome the division.  Kassoulides, the centre-right candidate and a former foreign minister, has also pledged to revive peace talks if elected: the international community largely favours him to win on Sunday.

Christofias, who has the closer ties with the Turkish-speaking north, is the first communist to run for the presidency. He pulled out of a coalition government in 2006 because the party threatened to split over the president's refusal to hold substantive talks with the Turkish Cypriots.