# 2023 Cypriot presidential election
The 2023 Cypriot presidential election elected the President of the Republic of Cyprus in two rounds on 5 and 12 February 2023, producing a runoff victory for the independent candidate [Nikos Christodoulides](https://www.edgepedia.org/nikos-christodoulides) over the diplomat Andreas Mavroyiannis with 51.97 percent of the vote[1](https://www.gov.cy/presidency/en/about/the-president-of-the-republic/). Christodoulides thereby became the eighth President of the Republic in its 63-year history as an independent state[2](https://apnews.com/article/54c26e88452e4d3283a2719a4e80d2b6).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Dates | First round 5 February 2023; runoff 12 February 2023[3](https://www.robert-schuman.eu/en/doc/oee/oee-2028-en.pdf) |
| Result | Nikos Christodoulides 51.97%, Andreas Mavroyiannis 48.1% in the runoff[1](https://www.gov.cy/presidency/en/about/the-president-of-the-republic/) • [4](https://apnews.com/article/8f85f71fe4584c1a1638fb4240dd673a) |
| First round | Christodoulides 32%, Mavroyiannis 29.6%, Averof Neophytou third about 3.5 points behind[2](https://apnews.com/article/54c26e88452e4d3283a2719a4e80d2b6) |
| Turnout | 404,321 of 561,273 registered voters, 72.04%, up 0.16% on the 2018 first round[5](https://www.elections.gov.cy/moi/elections/elections.nsf/All/BCB34A22F811DB04C225894E00223523?OpenDocument=) |
| Candidates | A record field of 14 candidates[6](https://apnews.com/article/889abfafa6f29eb989b546c4d6038aa3) |
| Outcome | Christodoulides sworn in on 28 February 2023 as the 8th President for a five-year term[7](https://apnews.com/article/7270560c7ec3c5e7cecb985dd6b19668) • [8](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/13608746.2024.2304445) |
## Electoral system and office
Cyprus is a presidential republic in which the President serves as both head of state and head of government; it is the only member state of the European Union with a presidential system[9](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcms.13667). Under the Constitution the government system provides for a Greek-Cypriot President and a Turkish-Cypriot Vice-President[10](https://www.gov.cy/moi-elections/en/documents/presidential-elections-2023/general-background/). In practice, under the Law of Necessity, the President appoints eleven ministers who constitute the [Council of Ministers](https://www.edgepedia.org/council-of-ministers) and exercise the state's executive power, and the President holds a final veto over House of Representatives laws concerning foreign affairs, defense, and security[11](https://www.gov.cy/presidency/en/about/office-and-competencies/).
A candidate needs an absolute majority to win in the first round; otherwise the top two contenders face a runoff, and the winner of the runoff takes the five-year term[8](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/13608746.2024.2304445). Only citizens of the Republic of Cyprus who reach age 18 by election day and are registered on the electoral roll may vote in the presidential election[12](https://elections.gov.cy/moi/elections/elections.nsf/electionseuca_en/electionseuca_en?OpenDocument=) • [20](https://www.gov.cy/moi/en/ministry/departments/civil-registry-section/central-electoral-service/presidential-elections/).
## Candidates and campaign
**A record field of 14 candidates** contested the election, but the campaign centered on three front-runners who were all close associates of the outgoing President Nicos Anastasiades[6](https://apnews.com/article/889abfafa6f29eb989b546c4d6038aa3). Nikos Christodoulides, 49, a former government spokesman and foreign minister in Anastasiades' administration, ran as an independent despite his long-standing membership in the ruling [Democratic Rally](https://www.edgepedia.org/democratic-rally) (DISY), backed by four medium-to-small parties: DIKO, EDEK, DIPA, and the Solidarity Movement[13](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/political-data-yearbook/article/cyprus-political-developments-and-data-in-2023/F52F7AFFC98E39D722B5AEB3467199A9). Averof Neophytou, 61, led DISY, the country's largest party, campaigning as a "safe choice" with the slogan "Averof Can"[6](https://apnews.com/article/889abfafa6f29eb989b546c4d6038aa3) • [14](https://apnews.com/article/df1996cd0e74905ce8296f826ceb3f31). Andreas Mavroyiannis, 66, a career diplomat, ran as an independent with the backing of the communist-rooted AKEL party[6](https://apnews.com/article/889abfafa6f29eb989b546c4d6038aa3).
Opinion polls had consistently placed Christodoulides first, with as much as a 10-point lead, while Neophytou and Mavroyiannis competed for the second runoff spot[6](https://apnews.com/article/889abfafa6f29eb989b546c4d6038aa3). Economic uncertainty and migration emerged as overriding voter concerns, at times eclipsing the stalemated question of the island's ethnic division[6](https://apnews.com/article/889abfafa6f29eb989b546c4d6038aa3). Both eventual runoff candidates pledged to expedite asylum applications and curb the flow of migrants arriving through the north and the U.N.-controlled buffer zone[15](https://apnews.com/article/2919bf6c53de1f9786dde99165f24352).
## First round, 5 February 2023
With all votes counted, Christodoulides led with 32 percent, followed by Mavroyiannis at a surprisingly strong 29.6 percent, some 3.5 percentage points above Neophytou, who had been placed second in earlier opinion polls[2](https://apnews.com/article/54c26e88452e4d3283a2719a4e80d2b6). The Chief Returning Officer, Costas Constantinou, reported final turnout of 404,321 voters out of 561,273 registered, or 72.04 percent, an increase of 0.16 percent over the 2018 first round; abstention was 27.96 percent (156,952 voters), invalid ballots 5,333 (1.32 percent), blank ballots 1,671 (0.41 percent), and valid ballots 397,317 (98.27 percent)[5](https://www.elections.gov.cy/moi/elections/elections.nsf/All/BCB34A22F811DB04C225894E00223523?OpenDocument=).
The result was a blow to DISY: it was the first time in the party's history that it did not have a candidate in the presidential race's decisive stage, and after a tumultuous executive committee meeting the party decided not to formally back either runoff candidate, telling members to vote as they saw fit[16](https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/report/cyprus/february-2023) • [15](https://apnews.com/article/2919bf6c53de1f9786dde99165f24352).
## Runoff, 12 February 2023
The runoff pitted two former diplomats against each other: Christodoulides, who had campaigned as a unifier unconstrained by ideological and party lines, and Mavroyiannis, a veteran diplomat with broad voter appeal[15](https://apnews.com/article/2919bf6c53de1f9786dde99165f24352). With 100 percent of ballots counted, Christodoulides had 51.9 percent to Mavroyiannis's 48.1 percent, and Mavroyiannis conceded before the tally was complete[4](https://apnews.com/article/8f85f71fe4584c1a1638fb4240dd673a). [International IDEA](https://www.edgepedia.org/international-idea) described it as the closest presidential election since 1998[16](https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/report/cyprus/february-2023). Turnout in the repeat election ran 1.6 percent higher than in the second round of the 2018 presidential election at the same morning hour, according to the Chief Returning Officer[17](https://elections.gov.cy/moi/elections/elections.nsf/All/BEA5984F2F15B801C225895400326806?OpenDocument=).
Christodoulides was proclaimed the newly elected President by the Chief Returning Officer on 13 February 2023[18](https://elections.gov.cy/moi/elections/elections.nsf/dmlnew23_en/dmlnew23_en?OpenDocument=) and took his oath of office at a ceremony in parliament on 28 February 2023[7](https://apnews.com/article/7270560c7ec3c5e7cecb985dd6b19668).
## Aftermath and significance
Christodoulides's victory marked a significant shift in Cypriot politics, with implications for domestic party dynamics[9](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcms.13667). DISY declared itself an opposition party, and Neophytou announced he would not run again for the party leadership[16](https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/report/cyprus/february-2023). At his swearing-in, Christodoulides affirmed Cyprus's Western foreign policy orientation as an EU member seeking stronger ties with the United States, and he pledged to revive stalemated reunification talks with the [Turkish Cypriots](https://www.edgepedia.org/turkish-cypriots)[7](https://apnews.com/article/7270560c7ec3c5e7cecb985dd6b19668). He had also pledged during the campaign to form a coalition government with women filling half of the Cabinet positions[4](https://apnews.com/article/8f85f71fe4584c1a1638fb4240dd673a), and in the following days announced that Cyprus would earmark 2 percent of GDP for defense spending[19](https://apnews.com/article/e24bf7e511398b11fa66126cd4dc42d7).
Key issues identified for the new government included corruption, the rising cost of living, migration policy, and the deadlock in reunification talks with Turkish Cypriots[16](https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/report/cyprus/february-2023). Analysts noted that the electorate favored independent candidates whose positions converged toward the political center, raising the question of whether ideology was declining in Cypriot politics or voters had adopted a more pragmatic stance[8](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/13608746.2024.2304445).
## References
1. [The President of the Republic, Presidency of the Republic of Cyprus](https://www.gov.cy/presidency/en/about/the-president-of-the-republic/)
2. [Ex-foreign minister will face diplomat for Cyprus presidency, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/54c26e88452e4d3283a2719a4e80d2b6)
3. [Presidential election in Cyprus, 5 February 2023, Robert Schuman Foundation](https://www.robert-schuman.eu/en/doc/oee/oee-2028-en.pdf)
4. [Ex-minister Christodoulides wins Cyprus presidential election, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/8f85f71fe4584c1a1638fb4240dd673a)
5. [Presidential Elections 2023 – Statement by the Chief Returning Officer on the results of the first round, Central Elections Service](https://www.elections.gov.cy/moi/elections/elections.nsf/All/BCB34A22F811DB04C225894E00223523?OpenDocument=)
6. [Cyprus picks new president amid economic doubt, ethnic split, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/889abfafa6f29eb989b546c4d6038aa3)
7. [Cyprus' new president says country on firm Western footing, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/7270560c7ec3c5e7cecb985dd6b19668)
8. [The waning of ideology? Presidential elections in the Republic of Cyprus, 5 February 2023, South European Society and Politics](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/13608746.2024.2304445)
9. [The 2023 Cypriot Presidential Elections: Shifts in Domestic and Regional Dynamics, JCMS](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcms.13667)
10. [General Background, Presidential Elections 2023, Central Elections Service](https://www.gov.cy/moi-elections/en/documents/presidential-elections-2023/general-background/)
11. [Office & Competencies, Presidency of the Republic of Cyprus](https://www.gov.cy/presidency/en/about/office-and-competencies/)
12. [How to vote, Central Elections Service](https://elections.gov.cy/moi/elections/elections.nsf/electionseuca_en/electionseuca_en?OpenDocument=)
13. [Cyprus: Political Developments and Data in 2023, Political Data Yearbook](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/political-data-yearbook/article/cyprus-political-developments-and-data-in-2023/F52F7AFFC98E39D722B5AEB3467199A9)
14. [Cyprus presidential candidates push leadership credentials, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/df1996cd0e74905ce8296f826ceb3f31)
15. [Battle of former diplomats in Cyprus' presidential election, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/2919bf6c53de1f9786dde99165f24352)
16. [Cyprus – February 2023, Global State of Democracy, International IDEA](https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/report/cyprus/february-2023)
17. [Presidential Elections 2023 – Repeat election: Statement by the Chief Returning Officer on voter turnout, Central Elections Service](https://elections.gov.cy/moi/elections/elections.nsf/All/BEA5984F2F15B801C225895400326806?OpenDocument=)
18. [Announcements, Presidential Elections 2023, Central Elections Service](https://elections.gov.cy/moi/elections/elections.nsf/dmlnew23_en/dmlnew23_en?OpenDocument=)
19. [Cypriot president pledges 2% of GDP on defense spending, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/e24bf7e511398b11fa66126cd4dc42d7)
20. [Presidential Elections - Ministry of Interior - Gov.cy](https://www.gov.cy/moi/en/ministry/departments/civil-registry-section/central-electoral-service/presidential-elections/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Politics and government › Elections and representation › Elections and referendums › National and subnational elections outside the US and UK › African and Middle Eastern election events › Gulf and Cypriot elections*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license