The Chief Electoral Officer, Mr Kostas Constantinou, tonight proclaimed Mr Nicos Christodoulides, who secured 51.97% of the votes in the presidential election of 12 February 2023, as President-elect of the Republic of Cyprus.
Referring to the President of the Republic, the Supervisor of Elections said:
"Mr. Christodoulides,
Before I read the Decree of your proclamation, as defined in the Law, as Supervisor General of Elections and on behalf of all the Election Supervisors, as well as all the colleagues who worked for the organization and conduct of the elections, I express our warmest congratulations on your election to the highest office, that of the President of the Republic of Cyprus.
The President and Vice President of the Republic Election Laws of 1959 to 2022, proclaiming the President of the Republic:
Because, on Sunday 12 February 2023, a ballot for the election of the President of the Republic was held in accordance with the Presidential Election Warrant issued by the Minister of Interior, pursuant to the provisions of Article 9 of the Election (President and Vice President of the Republic) Laws.
And because, following the collection and tabulation of the results of the ballot held on Sunday 12 February 2023, for the election of the President of the Republic, Mr. Nicos Christodoulides, who received more votes than fifty percent of the total number of valid votes, has been declared President-elect of the Republic, in accordance with Article 34(6) of the aforementioned Laws.
Therefore, I, Costas A. Constantinou, Chief Electoral Officer, hereby announce that Mr. Nicos Christodoulides has been elected President of the Republic and his name is published in the Official Gazette of the Republic, in accordance with Article 36(b) of the above Laws.
Mr. President,
My sincere congratulations. The floor is yours."
Addressing the crowd gathered at the "Tassos Papadopoulos - Eleftheria" closed stadium, the newly elected President of the Republic said. For the honour of elevating me to the top office of the Republic of Cyprus. I am grateful for your trust, for your love, for your support. I mentally shake the hands of all of you tonight. I look into your eyes. I look you in the eye and in all sincerity I make you a promise tonight. I will do everything in my power to be worthy of your trust. I will spare no effort to realise the vision I have shared with you, so that we can strive to create a free country that offers all its citizens conditions of security and prosperity. For all citizens, without exceptions and without distinctions. The elections, my friends, are over. I want to thank the Ministry of Interior and all those who worked on the electoral process. The Cypriot people have spoken.
Friends, the election campaign belongs to yesterday. We leave behind everything that hurt us and everything that made us bitter. Tomorrow a new day dawns, which will find us united and determined to put into practice all that we have promised to the Cypriot people. Thank you all. I thank the citizens. I thank the Cypriot people who honoured me with their vote. I thank the political forces that supported our efforts. I thank the Democratic Party. I thank the EDEK. I thank the Democratic Party. I thank Solidarity. Thank you to the Hunters' Movement. I thank the Animal Party. I thank all the organizations that supported us, all the organized groups and certainly our volunteers. Our volunteers all over Cyprus who selflessly stood with me all these months, protagonists of this effort. But allow me, my friends, to pay special tribute to my family who have been by my side throughout this very difficult journey. Thank you to my wife. I thank my children, all my family members in Cyprus and in the United States who have been my support throughout these months. But I also want to thank tonight, friends, all the citizens, all our fellow citizens who made other choices. This is the essence of democracy. I honour and respect all of them. In the Cyprus that I envision, friends, there is no such thing as ours and others. In the Cyprus I envision I will be the President of all Cypriots. At this point I want to thank all the political forces. I send tonight a sincere message of cooperation and readiness to join forces for the good of our country, for the good of our homeland, for our Cyprus. I respect and honour AKEL, the great party of the left. I respect and honour its leadership under Mr Stefanos Stefanou and its people. I also send my unlimited respect to Mr Andreas Mavroyiannis for the good fight we fought. But, friends, I want to refer in particular to the Democratic Rally.
I want to refer to the Democratic Rally, its President Averof Neophytou, its leadership and its people. I know very well that in this election campaign we experienced difficult moments both on a personal and political level. I want everyone to know and I want to assure them tonight that I will not let them down. I have spoken to Averof Neophytou, I have received his congratulations. I thank him very much and I will seek to meet him as soon as possible. I would also like, friends, tonight, to thank the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades. I want to thank him for the many years of cooperation that we have had throughout this period and the trust that he has shown in me through the important offices that he has entrusted to me. I am particularly grateful. Friends, I am deeply touched that we have managed to make our election programme a majority current, a programme that we have drawn up through dialogue with the citizens, through civil society, with all Cypriots, with our young people and with the champions of life. I want to tell you tonight that this unprecedented effort of participatory democracy, which began during the election campaign, will continue throughout our term of office. My highest concern is the end of the Turkish occupation, the reunification of our homeland. I will do everything to break the deadlock, to restart the dialogue, to create the conditions for the resolution of the Cyprus problem, to find, my friends, a solution that will ensure that we leave our children a country reunited in territory, institutions and economy. A homeland that respects the rights of all its legitimate inhabitants, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, Maronites, Armenians and Latins. Tonight I want to address our Turkish Cypriot compatriots in particular, who have been going through difficult times in recent days. We share their grief and I want to assure them that we stand by them.
I wish to reiterate that the current state of affairs cannot be the solution to the Cyprus problem. It cannot be the future of our country. Cyprus cannot be the last crippled state in the European Union. I have just spoken with the Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and the President of the Hellenic Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou. Greece is our support and our selfless ally. I want you to be sure that our relations will be further strengthened in all areas. I also spoke tonight with the President of the European Parliament, with the President of France, with Senator Menendez and with other personalities from the wider Middle East. Our European Western orientation is our constant compass. This orientation will be further strengthened. At the same time, friends, we will continue to expand our relations with all the countries of the region and with all the powers that can play a substantial role in ending the occupation and resolving the Cyprus problem, always within the framework, the agreed framework of the United Nations and with full respect for the principles and values of the European Union.
Tonight I want to send a message of unlimited respect to our refugees, our trapped people, our victims, the relatives of our missing persons, all those who are still suffering from the traumas of the invasion and the ongoing occupation. They remain at the forefront of our struggle to end lawlessness and injustice. Friends, it is with full awareness that I take on the enormous responsibility of looking you in the eye tonight. I want to promise you that I will make every effort to live up to your hopes and expectations. I am fully prepared to take over the governance of the country. I am fully prepared to tackle the great challenges and the important problems of everyday life. I am fully prepared to work together to build a future with vision, hope and prospects for all. I am determined to form a government of broad social acceptance with competent people from all political parties. From civil society and of course from the young generation of our country that we are proud of. National unity, my friends, is not a slogan. National unity is a historical necessity. I am focused on the next day for the immediate implementation of concrete actions, for the economy, for society, for all that you have highlighted as priorities. I have completed the groundwork and I have a concrete action plan for each ministry so that we can start working immediately.
Friends, my goal is to achieve an inclusive, empathetic society that leaves no one behind. To achieve an economy that grows with extroversion, that is resilient and competitive. A state that is flexible and efficient. A state that is citizen-friendly, transparent, meritocratic, fair and accountable. For a better quality of life in our cities and countryside for all without exception. A homeland that will immediately ensure that it is not an attractive destination for illegal immigrants. A state that will give substantial support to farmers and stockbreeders and that will actually revitalise the primary sector in our country and revitalise the countryside. A Cyprus that will be on the side of families and young people in practice, that will give decent pensions and support our vulnerable fellow citizens, offering equal opportunities to all those who need special care and special support. A country that will set the bar as high as possible for education and culture, with good public schools and the promotion of sport, arts and letters. A Cyprus with quality health services. Yes, friends, we will strengthen and improve the General Health System, the greatest achievement of recent years, which guarantees every citizen equal and universal access to health services. Compatriots, from tomorrow we take the first steps, we take the first step towards better days. With unity, with determination, with confidence and pride. All this to achieve together the Cyprus of tomorrow. Tonight the winners are all of you. Together we started this journey, together we walked it and together we will continue it. From the depths of my soul, I thank you warmly. Thank you for your support. Thank you for the courage and also for the inspiration you have given me in this great struggle. Tonight the winner is Cyprus. Tonight the winner is our country. Let us go strong. We go with hope. We go united for our Cyprus. Thank you very much!"
(EFYs/NG/SX)
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