Communist party leader Demetris Christofias is ahead in the Cyprus presidential race after an exit poll showed him leading his rival by just over one per cent.
A poll by the Pulse polling company for the state Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation put Christofias at 50.8 percent of the vote and Kassoulides at 49.2 percent. Other exit polls also showed Christofias in the lead. Both men say they will revive efforts to unite the divided island where Greek Cypriots, who voted on Sunday, live in the south and Turkish Cypriots in the north. The island's division is a major obstacle to Turkey's European Union aspirations