1959 Cypriot presidential election
Presidential elections were held in Cyprus for the first time on 13 December 1959.[1] Only two candidates contested the election; Makarios III, who was backed by EOKA, and Ioannis Clerides, a member of the Democratic Union who was also supported by AKEL.[2][3] The result was a victory for Makarios III, who received 67% of the vote, although he did not take office until 16 August 1960.[4] Voter turnout was 91.2%.[3]
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A separate election for Vice President of Cyprus took place. Fazıl Küçük was the only candidate, and was elected unopposed.[2]
Electoral system
The elections were held using a two-round system; if no candidate received over 50% of the vote in the first round, a second round was to be held between the top two candidates. The constitution required the President of Cyprus to be a Greek Cypriot and the Vice-President to be a Turkish Cypriot. Greek Cypriots elected the President and Turkish Cypriots elected the Vice-President.[5]
Results
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Makarios III | 144,501 | 66.82 |
| Ioannis Clerides | 71,753 | 33.18 |
| Total | 216,254 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | 216,254 | 99.22 |
| Invalid/blank votes | 1,702 | 0.78 |
| Total votes | 217,956 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | 238,879 | 91.24 |
| Source: Nohlen & Stöver | ||
References
- Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p438 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
- Marshall William Conley (1967) Political Community and Social Conflict: Cyprus
- Nohlen & Stöver, p445
- Nohlen & Stöver, p430
- The Elections (President and Vice-President) of the Republic laws 1959 to 2017 Legislation Online
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