With over 50 per cent of the votes counted, the Cypriot Communist party (AKEL) was in the lead late last night in elections for a new parliament on the island. The AKEL was over 2 per cent ahead of the main government party, Democratic Rally (DISY).
The new parliament will play a key role in preparing the island for EU membership in the coming years. Both DISY and AKEL are pro-European and have moderate views on how to resolve the long-running division of Cyprus, an issue that was pushed into the background during a bitterly-fought election campaign.
With 54.3 per cent of the vote counted, AKEL was leading with 35.4 per cent. The DISY was at 33.2 per cent.
AKEL claimed victory even before half the votes were counted. DISY bitterly congratulated their old rivals, even though, as its leader said, just a few percentage points separated them.
Crowds waving red flags started to gather outside AKEL's HQ in Nicosia to start victory celebrations, while supporters in other towns were taking to the streets and honking car horns.
Voting was extended by 40 minutes at some of the 1,151 polling stations because of the long queues for voting, and election officials later said there had been an unusually high turnout of 92 per cent.
The election results could also dictate the shape of the next presidential election in February 2003.
DISY is the main party in the centre-right government of President Glafcos Clerides.
Analysts said DISY had suffered as the party of government and that the smaller parties gained from the protest vote. Parties need to reach a 1.8 per cent threshold to gain a seat in parliament.
Earlier, exit polls show the Greens (1.8 per cent), a new party opposing a federal settlement to the division of Cyprus, New Horizons (3 per cent), and the Fighting Democratic Movement (2.8 per cent) could each gain a seat for the first time.
The centre-right party, Diko, is expected to take between 14 and 16 per cent of the vote, while the socialist party, Kisos, is struggling to hold between 6 and 8 per cent.
However, DISY's junior coalition partners, the United Democrats, scored low in the exit poll with between 1.7 and 2.7 per cent.
The United Democrats are the party of the island's EU negotiator, Dr George Vassiliou.
Counting was expected to continue until early today.
The new 56-seat House of Representatives meets on June 7th.