Bishop Athanasios of Limassol secured the lead in Sunday’s electoral process for the new Archbishop, and is followed by Bishop Georgios of Paphos and Bishop Isaiah of Tamassos and Orini, with the three of them forming the triumvirate that will be brought before to the Holy Synod when choosing the next Primate of the Church of Cyprus.
In his statements at the Archbishopric Palace, the Chief Returning Officer, Yiannis Harilaou, stated that the final results, with 100% of the votes counted, are as follows: Bishop of Limassol Athanasios secured 35.68%, Bishop of Paphos Georgios 18.39%, Bishop of Tamassos and Orini Isaiah 18.10%, Bishop of Constantia and Famagusta Vasilios 14.79%, Bishop of Morphou Neophytos 9.80% and Bishop of Kyrenia Chrysostomos 3.24%.
The election process started earlier on Sunday morning, at 10.00 am (local time) while polls closed at 18.00.
Harilaou stated that the total turnout was 30.2%, noting that 165,750 out of 548,793 voters cast their votes.
He noted that the turnout in the Archbishopric of Cyprus was 26.17% with 35,006 voters who cast their votes out of a total of 133,768, in the Bishopric of Paphos it was 34.79% with 20,902 voters out of 60,073, in the Bishopric of Kition it was 23.04% with 18,239 voters out of 79,154, in the Bishopric of Kyrenia it was 32.19% with 1,222 voters out of 3,796, in the Bishopric of Limassol it was 30.57% with 45,162 voters out of 147,736.
The Chief Returning Officer added that the attendance rate in the Bishopric of Morphou was 33.56% with 5,971 voters going to the polls out of 17,790, in the Bishopric of Constantia-Famagusta it was 43.38% with 14,450 voters out of 33,313, in the Bishopric of Kykkos it was 47.90% with 856 voters out of 1,787, in the Bishopric of Tamasos it was 35.74% with 15,062 voters out of 42,146 and in the Bishopric of Trimythounta it was 30.38% with 8,880 voters out of 29,230.
Harilaou pointed out that this was turnout until approximately 17:45, that is, 15 minutes before the closing of the polls.
People’s verdict needs to be be respected, said Bishop Athanasios of Limassol in his statements, while thanking God and the people for the result in the elections. Asked if he is going to enter into consultations with other members of the Holy Synod he said that there will be some consultations in the spirit of cooperation, but nothing more.
Bishop Georgios of Paphos said that “there is no first or second” when forming the triumvirate since people vote their top three choices and then the members of the Holy Synod chose as the next Archbishop the one who is deemed to be more appropriate.
Bishop Isaiah of Tamassos and Orinis said that this was the most peaceful election ever held in the Church of Cyprus, adding that the inclusion of a new Bishop in the triumvirate shows that the voice of young people was heard at the end.
Bishop of Constantia and Famagusta, Vassilios said the result of the vote is completely respected and “we accept it.”
Source: Cyprus News Agency