The New Nation - Internet Edition

Reuters, Nicosia

Greek Cypriots voted to elect a new president on Sunday, with both candidates saying they want to relaunch peace talks to reunite the war-partitioned island that are crucial to Turkey's hopes of joining the EU. The runoff between Communist leader Demetris Christofias, 62, and right-wing backed Ioannis Kassoulides, 59, follows the surprise first-round defeat of incumbent Tassos Papadopoulos, who opposed a 2004 U.N. plan to reunify the Mediterranean state. Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. (12 a.m. EST). Voting was scheduled to end at 5 p.m. (10 a.m. EST), with final results expected by 1730 GMT (12:30 p.m. EST). Just over half a million people in the Greek Cypriot south of Cyprus were eligible to vote. "Voting started on time and we do not anticipate any problems," said chief election official Lazaros Savvides.