Germany and EPP congratulate Kasoulides for passing to run off elections

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the European People’s Party (EPP) have expressed their congratulations to Ioannis Kasoulides, who passed into the second round of the presidential elections.
According to an Athens News Agency report, Merkel expressed joy over the fact that Kasoulides clinched the most votes in the first round of the elections but noted that she would cooperate with whoever was elected president in the run off election.
Asked if the failure of current President Tassos Papadopoulos to be re-elected opened new positive prospects for a Cyprus settlement, Merkel said she did not wish to comment on this, adding that ”it goes without saying that one is happy when a candidate of fraternal party has a political success.”
Speaking at a press conference in Berlin, she added that whatever the outcome of the second round, ”this will be fully respected” and pointed out the necessity for cooperation with the future leadership of Cyprus on issues such as the EU and Turkey.
Meanwhile, EPP President Wildfied Martens and President of the EPP Group in the European Parliament Joseph Daul have expressed in written statements their congratulations and support to Kasoulides.
According to a Democratic Rally (DISY) press release, Martens expresses ”satisfaction over the fact that the people of Cyprus supported a candidate with a true European profile,” adding that the EPP supported Kasoulides because ”he is the candidate that will bring Cyprus to the heart of Europe.”
Daul says in his statement, according to DISY, that Kasoulides ”is the statesman who can unite all political forces that contributed to the construction of the European prospect for Cyprus.”
According to DISY, an EPP member backing Kasoulides, Daul notes that the specific candidate, with his experience and strong international contacts, could give Cyprus a new European prospect through dialogue.
A candidate needs to secure 50% plus one vote to be elected President. Since no candidate secured this majority in the first round, MP and Former Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides and House President and AKEL Secretary General Demetris Christofias pass into the run off election of February 24.
In the first round of the elections on February 17, Kasoulides secured 33.51% of the vote in today’s first round of elections, followed by Christofias with 33.29% and outgoing President Tassos Papadopoulos, who was running for re-election, with 31.79%.