Today the Cypriot people have elected Nicos Anastasiades as their seventh president in probably the most important election in the history of the republic of Cyprus. The hot subject in previous elections and also the mail political influence previous candidates had on people was “Cyprus problem” or “Κυπριακό πρόβλημα”. This year the compass is pointing towards a more difficult path. A path towards the exit from the economic crisis and survival from economic destruction. Today people had to make a choice between two candidates which had their path set out in front of them… Both support the dual state federal government solution to the Cyprus problem and both had to face the same memorandum from the European support mechanism since it was signed by the previous president Demetris Christofias. The new president is basically taking over a government which is in a terrible state both financially and morally.
The high nonvoting percentage shows that the public has no trust in politicians. Despite the importance of the elections 18.04% of the people did not vote, 4.05% handed in an empty ballot and 3.3% had voided votes. Winner, Nicos Anastasiades got a total of 57.48% and Stavros Malas 47.52% of the total valid and non blank votes. Technically though the President has 42.42% and the latter 35.07%. A total of 26.2% misrepresentation. I am not exaggerating with the word ‘misrepresentation’ because the election portrays only 73.8% of the population.
Extending even further I believe no one can argue that both candidates have a very high vote percentage which is theirs simply because their voters did not want their opponent and not because they wanted their selected candidate. I am not saying the elections were not fair or immoral in any way. I am just pointing out the facts. People are not happy with the people who represent them and take decisions for them.
Because everyone reading this article will wonder what are my political beliefs and which candidate did I choose, and because ones vote is secret I will only say this. These elections were the most boring and unexciting. I honestly do not believe that any of the candidates would make any substantial difference in the state of Cyprus in five years from now. Not because they are inadequate but simply because they don t have a lot of choices. President Nicos Anastasiades will be more eager and probably willing to flow with the European currents where as Dr Stavros Malas would probably try to swim upstream. The end result? both will end up down the waterfall.
The Cyprus government is i urgent need of money to survive the negative balance sheet. We have to do what we are told do. A change in government is not so bad after all since no one can argue that the previous government did not make the best decisions. I am not judging Dr Stavros Malas, he seems to know what he is talking about but being supported by the previously governing party I believe it is not the best idea to continue down the same path. Maybe he was going to be different but history in Cyprus proves that politicians always obey to their party’s instructions. On the other hand president Nicos Anastasiades is highly feared, even by his supporters, that he will accept whatever the European support mechanism will tell him without any opposition. As you can see (or read) i am following the same structure of reasoning. I am weighing out the negatives of each candidate and not the positives. I am also fed up with the same scenarios and beliefs and I have also lost my trust towards the political figures in Cyprus.
I am hoping for a better future for my country and I believe that if we put all political differences aside and work together we can achieve a good result. I know that the opposing parties are anxious to enact a strong opposition policy. Although it sounds tempting I believe a correctly aimed criticism and a willingness to cooperate is the best approach to follow during these times.
United we stand