CYPRUS: A fiercely contested election to choose a new leader for Cyprus's powerful Orthodox Church was in disarray yesterday amid complaints that some ballot boxes arrived for counting late, empty or tampered with.
Election officials suspended counting twice yesterday as representatives of opposing camps sniped over procedures. Such turmoil is unprecedented in Cyprus, where political elections pass without even a whiff of scandal.
Civil authorities were not involved in the process to choose a new archbishop, the first church elections in 29 years.
"I am saddened by what happened," said Bishop Chrysostomos, acting head of the island's church. He said any irregularities were not intentional.
He ruled out cancelling the election and intimated that the confusion was caused by too many representatives for each of the four candidate being present in the initial counting process.
"We won't allow the presence of any more than those required, or interference with the vote selection and count," he said, ordering vote counting to resume.
Up to half a million Christians on the island were eligible to vote. In-fighting marred the campaign and election officials said it was unclear when a final result would be known. Votes counted so far pointed to victory for Athanassios, a monk seen as a gifted spiritual leader by supporters and a fundamentalist by detractors.
His main contender is Bishop Nikiforos, who is supported by the political elite of the island and Communist AKEL, the senior partner in Cyprus's centre-left government.
The bishop's campaign managers spoke of "inexplicable delays" in ballot boxes reaching the main counting centre.
Some ballot boxes were open, others unsealed, and others with less ballot sheets than those documented.
Cyprus's Orthodox church is an independent branch of the Eastern Orthodox communion. It has extensive business interests on the holiday island.