Anastasiades elected new Cypriot President

Exit polls on Cypriot CYBC state broadcaster, released as polling stations closed in the runoff election, showed Nicos Anastasiades clinching 57-61 percent of the vote against an estimated 38-42 percent for communist-backed Stavros Malas.

The announcement sparked instant celebrations with a large crowd gathering outside the offices in Nicosia of the winner's Disy party and supporters honking car horns across Nicosia.

Cypriots were called to the polls today in a left-right presidential runoff for electing a new leader aimed at sealing a crucial bailout for the EU state on the brink of bankruptcy.

"Cyprus is at a crossroad. The people of Cyprus are today exercising their democratic right to determine the direction our country will take and in essence their own future," clear frontrunner Anastasiades said after voting in the port city of Limassol amid cheers from a group of supporters.

"I am absolutely confident that as of tonight Cyprus will have a new direction. Today's vote marks a new era for Cyprus," he said, as residents headed to the beaches to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather.

Anastasiades, 66, favours a swift EU bailout agreement for the island and says he accepts the harsh measures required to secure it, while Malas has campaigned on a pro-bailout but anti-austerity ticket.

The vote was held against a backdrop of grim economic news, with the European Commission predicting the Cyprus economy will shrink 3.5 percent in 2013 after a 2.3 percent contraction last year.

It said the economy would continue to shrink until 2016.

The election is seen as one of the most important since independence from Britain in 1960, and unlike previous polls on the normally affluent island it has focused on the economy rather than reunification efforts.

If Anastasiades, who has close ties with Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, is elected, "there are chances of a good climate and understanding between Nicosia and Brussels," said political analyst Christopheros Christophorou.