1959 Cypriot presidential election|
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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]
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 | % |
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| Makarios III | 144,501 | 66.82 |
| Ioannis Clerides | 71,753 | 33.18 |
| Total | 216,254 | 100.00 |
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| Valid votes | 216,254 | 99.22 |
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| Invalid/blank votes | 1,702 | 0.78 |
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| Total votes | 217,956 | 100.00 |
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| Registered voters/turnout | 238,879 | 91.24 |
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| Source: Nohlen & Stöver |
References