Cyprus poll draws record 14 candidates, unlikely to produce clear winner

Cypriots vote on Sunday in a presidential election which has split the political right and is unlikely to produce a clear winner, setting the stage for a runoff on February 12.

Among a record 14 candidates, the race for the top job comes down to three hopefuls who were close aides of incumbent right-wing President Nicos Anastasiades, but are now bitter rivals.

The winner will need to resurrect moribund peace talks with estranged Turkish Cypriots on the ethnically split island, tackle spikes in irregular migration, and repair an image tarnished by a cash-for-passports scandal championed by the outgoing government before ditching it in 2020.

"Its been a very long pre-election period and I believe the real issues have been ignored… It's like they took a time-out for almost one-and-a-half years," said political analyst Andromachi Sophocleous.

Issues as...