Hardline Cypriot president boosted by elections

Cyprus has re-elected the centrist party of sitting president Tassos Papadopoulos, in a vote likely to be seen as an endorsement of his hardline stance over the Turkish North of the island.

Final results of the Cypriot parliamentary elections Sunday (21 May) showed big losses for all parties in favour of a 2004 UN plan for power-sharing with the Turkish Cypriots.

This plan was overwhelmingly rejected by Greek Cypriots in a referendum in April 2004, on the eve of Cypriot accession to the EU.

The Mediterranean island has been split since Turkish forces occupied the territory in 1974, after a coup d'etat on the island by Greek army officers, with subsequent international efforts to reunite the island failing so far.

72 year-old Mr Papadopoulos, who has been blamed for the Greek Cypriots' rejection of the UN reunification plan, said on Sunday evening that the election represented a boost for his government.

"The government, strengthened by the overall message of the election, will continue its work," Mr Papadopoulos said, according to media reports.

"With great satisfaction I must note that voter turnout remains very high - despite a small dip - and is among the highest in Europe," the president continued.

Mr Papadopoulos' centrist Democratic Party (DIKO) won 17.91 percent of the vote, a number which together with the 31.16 percent for communist Working People's Progressive Party (AKEL), in coalition with Papadopoulos alongside a number of smaller parties, assured a majority in the 56-seat Cypriot House of Representatives.

Voting in Cyprus is compulsory, and those who do not make it to the ballot boxes can be fined up to 200 Cyprus pounds, or €350.

Analysts quoted by European media said the vote strengthens support for Mr Papadopoulos's hardline stance against Turkey.

Mr Papadopoulos said on Sunday that he will stick to his policies.

"The policy of the Cypriot-Greek part is clear and correct. I do not see any reason to change it," Mr Papadopoulos told reporters.

Cyprus limbo
The Cyprus conflict remains one of the stumbling blocks for Turkey's bid to join the European Union.

The North of Cyprus has been under international trade embargo since the 1974 Turkish invasion.

EU candidate state Turkey meanwhile blocks Greek Cypriot air and sea-born traffic to Turkish airports and ports.

Mr Papadopoulos' government has warned that it could block Turkey's EU entry talks if Ankara does not open its ports and airports to Cypriot traffic.

Brussels has repeatedly urged Turkey to lift its embargo on Cypriot-flagged vessels and aircraft as part of Turkey's negotiations for membership of the EU, with analysts warning of a "political crisis" in Turkey's EU accession talks later this year if Ankara sticks to its refusal.

In theory, Turkey's signature of the EU protocol extending a customs accord with the EU to the bloc's 10 new states - including Cyprus - should result in the embargo being lifted.

But Ankara says it can only lift the embargo if the EU moves on a long-standing promise to end the Turkish Cypriots' economic isolation.