Nikos Christodoulides elected Cyprus’s new president

Christodoulides, 49, won 51.92 percent of the vote compared with 48.09 percent for his opponent, who had been backed by the leftist party AKEL, The Guardian reported.

A mere 15,041 ballots had divided the loser from the winner.

“Tonight a long but beautiful journey has come to an end,” said Mavroyiannis, a former chief negotiator in peace talks with Turkish Cypriots, conceding defeat.

“It gave me the opportunity to meet thousands of people and hopes and dreams for our country.”

MNA/PR