Cyprus votes for president with eyes on new peace push

Cyprus votes in a presidential election on Sunday with incumbent Nicos Anastasiades ahead as he pledges a fresh push to reunify the divided island after talks collapsed last year.

Following a low-key campaign in the European Union's most easterly member, polls put the conservative in the lead as he claims credit for an economic recovery from a debilitating crisis in 2013.

But Anastasiades (71) looks unlikely to win a first round outright.

He is expected to face a February 4 run-off against either Communist-backed Stavros Malas or Nikolas Papadopoulos, a former president's son who takes a tougher line on peace efforts.

Apathy among the roughly 5,50,000 registered voters appears high and opponents have failed to land a major blow on the former lawyer as he seeks a second five-year term.

There is set to be intense horse-trading



if the first round is not decisive and a backroom deal could still thwart Anastasiades.

"He is the likely winner according to the polls," said analyst Christophoros Christophorou.

As always, the nearly 44-year division of the island between the internationally recognised Greek-majority Republic of Cyprus and a Turkish Cypriot statelet in the north looms large.

In July, two years of UN-backed talks between Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci came closer than ever to reunifying the island but collapsed in acrimony before a deal.

Despite the failure to bridge key issues, including the future of tens of thousands of Turkish troops in the north, Anastasiades insists he wants talks with Akinci to restart soon.

But there is deep scepticism over whether there is the political will to make a breakthrough.