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The election was the first to take place after the country’s accession to the European Union and the abortive UN-planned referendum on reunification in 2004. It was also the first to be contended and won by a leader of the communist AKEL (Anorthotiko Komma Ergazomenou Laou, Progressive Party of Working People). The 2008 election took place in a highly politicized envi- ronment, in the midst of concern over the future of bicommunal negotiations. The 61-year-old Dimitris Chris- tofias emerged as the winner, and efforts to reunify the island resumed after his election to the presidency. According to the 1960 constitution of the Republic of Cyprus, the President is elected for a 5-year fixed term by members of the Greek Cypriot community. 1 Following a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights in the 2004 Aziz v. Cyprus case, electoral law was amended to enable Turkish Cypriots residing in the south to vote for the first time in presidential elections (Faustmann and Kaymak, 2007). The Republic of Cyprus follows a presidential system with Presidents enjoying more powers than, say, their French or American counterparts. To be elected, a candidate needs more than 50% of the votes. If no candidate meets that requirement in the first round, a run-off is held a week later between the leading two first-round candidates. In February 2003, Tassos Papadopoulos won in the first round, gaining 51.5% of the vote after securing the support of a ‘tripartite alliance’ comprising AKEL, his own party DIKO (Demokratiko Komma, the Democratic Party), and EDEK (Eniea Demokratiki Enosis Kentrou, Unified Demo- cratic Union of the Centre). AKEL remained in government until July 2007 when its ministers resigned from the Papadopoulos cabinet. The president remained in office: his constitutional independence from other branches of government meant that Papadopoulos simply had to replace AKEL ministers. However, while he remained in power until February 2008, the announcement in July 2007 of the candidacy of AKEL’s Dimitris Christofias marked the unofficial launch of the presidential campaign. Although invariably the largest party on the island, AKEL had never before contended the presidential elections directly, choosing instead to back presidential candidates outside its own constituency. Elections in Cyprus take place in the shadow of recent history and contemporary developments related to reuni- fication. The island is currently divided into two de facto sections: the Republic of Cyprus and the self-acclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). The Republic of Cyprus is run by the Greek Cypriots who control the southern part of the island. It is recognized by all countries * Tel.: þ44 2890973231; fax: þ44 2890975048. E-mail address: n.loizides@qub.ac.uk 1 Article 1 of the Constitution stipulates that ‘‘the State of Cyprus is an independent and sovereign Republic with a presidential regime, the President being Greek and the Vice-President being Turk elected by the Greek and the Turkish Communities of Cyprus respectively’’ (Government Web Portal, 2008). Notes on Recent Elections / Electoral Studies 28 (2009) 141–173 163