Three main candidates face off in televised debate

The three main candidates in the 2023 presidential race were due to face off on Thursday evening in the first television debate.

It featured Disy leader Averof Neophytou, Akel-backed Andreas Mavroyiannis, and independent candidate (endorsed by the Diko party) Nikos Christodoulides.

Recorded earlier in the day, the debate was to air on state broadcaster CyBC at 10pm.

From teaser clips shown by CyBC, the main topic of discussion was the Cyprus issue, specifically the conference on Cyprus that took place in 2017 in Crans Montana, Switzerland, that ended in deadlock.

All three men were present at Crans Montana – Neophytou as party leader, Mavroyiannis as chief negotiator for the Greek Cypriot side, and Christodoulides as then government spokesman.

Christoulides leads in the polls. A survey released earlier this month showed he had 33.1 per cent of the popular vote. Trailing him by a distance were Mavroyiannis with 12.5 per cent and Neophytou with 11.9 per cent.