Cypriot incumbent president leads presidential election poll

NICOSIA, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- A new opinion poll published by Cypriot state-run television on Friday confirmed that the incumbent President Nicos Anastasiades was leading the race ahead of the upcoming presidential vote in January.

The poll shows that center-right Anastasiades is ahead of the pack of at least six presidential candidates with 28 percent, one percentage point up from a similar poll a month ago, as the election is 37 days away.

His two main opponents, Nicolas Papadopoulos, supported by his DIKO party and three other small center parties, and Stavros Malas, a former health minister supported by the left-wing AKEL party, trail with 15 percent each, 1.5 percentage points up from the previous poll.

But the poll also indicated that Malas may be overtaking Papadopoulos, meaning that he may be Anastasiades' opponent in a run-off election on Feb. 4.

The poll showed that if the second round of the elections were held now, Anastasiades would secure a comfortable win against both Papadopoulos or Malas.

About 68 percent of those polled said that, irrespective of their personal preferences, they believed that Anastasiades would win a second term.

Anastasiades also enjoyed the biggest popularity, with 53 percent of those polled, with Malas in second place with 45 percent and Papadopoulos in third place with 42 percent.

Papadopoulos, 43, is the son of former president Tassos Papadopoulos, who headed the Cypriot state from 2003 to 2008. Enditem