Communist party leader Demetris Christofias won Cyprus's presidential election yesterday and vowed to revive efforts to re-unite the island, whose division is a hurdle in Turkey's troubled path to the European Union.

Supporters poured into the streets waving red party banners and Cypriot flags and drove around the capital honking horns as Mr Christofias won 53.36 of the vote and right-wing rival Ioannis Kassoulides garnered 46.64 per cent and conceded defeat.

"I love you," Mr Christofias, 62, told a noisy crowd. "From tomorrow we unite our strengths, we shall work collectively and in unison to achieve reunification of our homeland."

Political analyst Hubert Faustmann said Mr Christofias "was talking about the need to communicate with his Turkish-Cypriot compatriots all the time and he will deliver on this. I think this will substantially improve the climate."

Mr Christofias will be the island's first communist president and the only one in the 27-member European Union. Although proud to be a communist, he says he will leave the free market economy alone.

His Akel party boasts busts of Lenin and red flags at its headquarters but it also owns a number of large businesses on the island. It has been instrumental in electing presidents but had never fielded its own candidate.

The division of the Mediterranean island between Greek and Turkish Cypriots since 1974 is a major obstacle to neighbouring Turkey's EU aspirations.

Greek Cypriots voted down a UN reunification plan in 2004 and they joined the EU a short time later as a divided island. The EU recognises the Greek-Cypriot government in the south.

Ankara's EU entry negotiations have been partly suspended because of the stalemate over Cyprus. The conflict is also an obstacle to better ties between Nato allies Greece and Turkey.

Negotiations froze under outgoing President Tassos Papadopoulos, who had rejected the UN plan in 2004. His surprise elimination in the first round of voting on February 17 raised hopes of breaking the deadlock. Soviet-educated Christofias, who won the vote after securing support from Papadopoulos's party, favours a structured approach to fresh talks through the UN.

Turkish Cypriots, who have watched wealthier Greek Cypriots enjoy the benefits of EU membership alone, welcomed the result, saying they were keen for negotiations to re-start.