Cyprus's Papadopoulos Ousted in Presidential Poll

Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos was knocked out of the race for a second five-year term as president, rekindling hopes for a settlement on the divided eastern Mediterranean island.

Ioannis Kasoulides, a former foreign minister, and Demetris Christofias, the leader of the communist party, will proceed to a run-off vote for the post on Feb. 24, according to state broadcaster CyBc.

Kasoulides led today's voting with 33.5 percent, while Christofias got 33.3 percent. Papadopoulos came in third with 31.8 percent.

Opinion polls had forecast Papadopoulos, who led Greek Cypriot opposition to a 2004 plan to reunite the island, would win his way through to the second round. Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded the northern third of Cyprus to oppose a coup by supporters of a union with Greece.

``We're called on to decide on Cyprus's future,'' Christofias, 61, said in statements broadcast on CyBC.

``We all sense that time is running out as long as things remain stagnant.''

Papadopoulos, 74, was instrumental in blocking a United Nations-backed plan to end the division, arguing the plan gave Turkish Cypriots more land and political power than their 20 percent weighting in the population. Turkish Cypriots voted for the plan.

Supporting the Plan

Today, after news of his defeat, he said he was unrepentant in supporting the plan saying the rejection meant the ``Republic of Cyprus'' was rescued.

Kasoulides, 59, a member of the center-right Disy party, and Christofias, the leader of the party that has traditionally had the best ties with the Turkish Cypriot community, are seen by analysts as being more flexible on reviving talks to end the division.

``Both Kasoulides and Christofias could deliver a solution,'' said James Ker-Lindsay, senior research fellow in European and international studies at Kingston University in London.

Kassoulides, who's now a member of the European Parliament, had supported the Annan Plan, named after the former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, and has promised to begin talks on a solution by meeting with Turkish Cypriot leaders ``the day after'' he's elected.

Today, he said that he would launch a ``diplomatic attack'' to boost the country's international standing and use his EU connections for a solution.