The february 2008 presidential election in the republic of cyprus: The context, dynamics and outcome in perspective

This paper studies the context, procedure and outcome of the February 2008 presidential election in the Republic of Cyprus. It primarily analyses the dynamics between the main actors that took part in the contestation of executive power; that is, the five main political parties and the campaigns of the three main candidates. It further outlines the effects of the main issues on the structure of political competition and preliminarily assesses the connection between the social and political level. While an element of surprise exists, there appears to be a pattern based on the behavioural aspects of the election that does not deviate from the diachronic culture of Cypriot political competition. The paper is divided into five sections: an introduction and outline of the paper's rationale; a delineation of the election's background and context; an analysis of the campaign period; an assessment of the results; and a conclusion on the absence or recurrence of those election-related characteristics that have been observed before.