Top three picked for Paphos bishop, voter turnout just short of 26% (Update 4)

Archimandrite Tychikos Vryonis, Archimandrite Ioannis Ioannou and Bishop Amathountos Nikolaos have made the top three in the elections for a new bishop of Paphos.

The fourth candidate, Karpasia Bishop Christoforos came in fourth. The Holy Synod will now decide among the three who came top in Sunday’s election.

According to an announcement by the Paphos chief returning officer,  Ioannis Charilaou the final turnout was 25.92 per cent. There were 52,164 registered voters in total but only 13,519 went to the polls at 126 centres in the district.

Archimandrite Tychikos Vryonis received 6,664 votes, or 50.01 per cent. He was followed by Archimandrite Ioannis Ioannou, who secured 3,996 votes or 29.99 per cent and Bishop Amathuntos Nikolaos, garnered 1,942 votes or 14.57 per cent.

The Bishop of Karpasia, Christoforos, received 674 votes or 5.06 per cent.

Of the votes, 13,325 were valid, 168 invalid and 26 blank.

The percentage of valid ballots was 98.56 per cent, invalid 1.24 per cent and blank 0.20 per cent.
Commenting afterwards Archimandrite Tychikos Bryonis thanked everyone who voted for him, “We await respectfully the decision of the Holy Synod,” he said.

The Synod will now decide who will be the 70th bishop for the district.

The chair has been vacant since December 24, 2022, when the then Metropolitan of Paphos Georgios was elected Archbishop of Cyprus.

Archbishop Georgios had held the Paphos seat since December 2006 when his predecessor Chrysostomos was elected Archbishop. Chrysostomos died last November.

President-elect Nikos Christodoulides, a native of Paphos, voted at around 2pm at the Ayia Paraskevi church in Yeroskipoou on Sunday.

“It is important to have mass participation in all electoral processes,” he said.
He expressed the certainty that the Holy Synod would make the right choice.