Nicosia (AFP) - Cyprus went to the polls Sunday for a tight presidential runoff between two career diplomats seeking the top post in the small EU member state on the divided Mediterranean island.
Polling stations close at 6:00 pm (1600 GMT) in the race to succeed two-term conservative President Nicos Anastasiades as head of state and government.
Former foreign minister Nikos Christodoulides, 49, faces 66-year-old fellow diplomat Andreas Mavroyiannis after last Sunday's inconclusive first round.
Christodoulides, who defected from the conservative ruling DISY party to run as an independent, scored 32.04 percent a week ago, against 29.59 percent for Mavroyiannis, who is also running as an independent and is backed by the communist AKEL party.
The former top diplomat Christodoulides voiced confidence when he told reporters: "The Cypriot people know and understand what is at stake...I have complete confidence in their judgement."
Mavroyiannis meanwhile revived his campaign slogan, saying: "It is time to turn the page for a new, united, European Cyprus ...We will be winners, and Cyprus will be victorious with us."
Top concerns for many voters are the cost of living crisis, irregular immigration and the island's almost half-century of division between the Greek-speaking south and a Turkish-occupied breakaway statelet in the north recognised only by Ankara.
But many disaffected voters will simply opt for "the least worse candidate -- a characteristic in most elections, but more so in this one," said Andreas Theophanous of the Cyprus Center for European and International Affairs.
The winner needs 50 percent plus one vote to succeed Anastasiades as the republic's eighth president, with the official final result expected by 1900 GMT.
Turnout at 3pm (1300 GMT) had reached 55 percent of registered voters, slightly down from the rate at that time in the first round.
The outgoing president urged Cypriots to come out "en masse to participate in this electoral process", adding that "this is our duty.The people decide, the majority decides and the minority respects."
'Close race'
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish forces occupied its northern third in response to a Greek-sponsored coup, but voters appeared split over whether the division was a priority in the election.
Retiree Dora Petsa, 75, said she expects the new president "to settle the Cypriot question".
But Louis Loizides, 51, said the country has "too many internal problems" from the economy to immigration, having taken in large numbers of asylum seekers, including many who cross the UN-patrolled Green Line.
The ruling DISY has been knocked out of the presidential race for the first time in its history, and the conservative party's decision to back neither candidate has thrown the run-off wide open.
Pre-poll favourite Christodoulides last week squeezed out DISY leader Averof Neofytou, 61, who came third with 26.11 percent, despite the incumbent's endorsement.
Mavroyiannis surprised observers by beating Neofytou and closing the gap with Christodoulides.
Nonetheless, Christodoulides has a slight edge as he will get the bulk of disaffected DISY votes, said Theophanous.
Analyst Fiona Mullen of Nicosia consultancy Sapienta Economics said she believes the race could be "quite close".
"The DISY leadership is officially not backing anyone but is unofficially backing Mavroyiannis," she said."So it will boil down to how much they can shift a party base whose instincts will be more Christodoulides than Mavroyiannis."
Rising prices
Mullen argued that Mavroyiannis must convince voters that his backer AKEL will not drive economic policy if he wins.
The communists have been widely criticised for their handling of the 2012-2013 financial crisis, which almost bankrupted the eurozone country before a bailout from international lenders.
Mavroyiannis has already taken the unusual step of naming his future finance minister, respected lawyer Charalambos Prountzos, an expert in corporate and energy law, if he is elected.
The new government will be under pressure to root out corruption and address higher energy bills, labour disputes and the struggling economy.
UN-backed talks on the future of the divided island, frozen for nearly six years, will also be on the new leader's agenda.
If elected, Mavroyiannis has promised to reopen negotiations from day one.Christodoulides has demanded changes before talks are revived.
