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Greek Cypriots Vote in Runoff, in Hopes of Peace Deal

by Associated Press

   NICOSIA, CYPRUS --

   Greek Cypriots are gearing up for a presidential runoff Sunday, barely
   seven months after the latest failure to reunify the eastern
   Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus.

   President Nicos Anastasiades is looking to reprise his triumph over
   left-leaning Stavros Malas in 2013 when the two men faced each other.
   Earlier polls had shown Anastasiades beating Malas convincingly in
   Sunday's runoff, but Malas' strong showing in last weekend's first
   round of voting might make it a closer race.

   Voters are skeptical about whether anyone can lead them out of the
   labyrinth of the decades-old division with Turkish Cypriots.

   Cyprus was divided into a Greek-speaking south and a Turkish-speaking
   north in 1974 when Turkey invaded following a coup by supporters of
   union with Greece. Only Turkey recognizes a Turkish Cypriot declaration
   of independence and keeps more than 35,000 troops in the north.

   Anastasiades, 71, who says it will be his last term in office if
   re-elected, is counting on his track record of turning the economy
   around after a 2013 financial crisis that saw unemployment soar and
   salaries slashed. He has also been trumpeting his role in steering
   peace talks with breakaway Turkish Cypriots further than anyone else
   since the 1974 split.

   By contrast, the 50-year-old Malas is hoping his relative youth will
   strike a chord with the 550,000 eligible voters, many of whom are
   disillusioned by the acrimonious breakdown of the latest round of peace
   talks and years of economic uncertainty that's shaken the confidence of
   the middle class.

   Anastasiades and Malas secured 35.5 and 35.2 percent of the vote,
   respectively, in the first round, setting up potentially a tighter than
   anticipated final vote.