Left-wing candidate concedes Cyprus election

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The left-wing candidate in Cyprus' presidential election runoff, Stavros Malas, has conceded defeat.

Near final results show his conservative rival, Nicos Anastasiades, has won with one of the widest margins in 30 years.

With nearly all the votes counted, Anastasiades had 57.48 percent of the ballots, far ahead of Malas' 42.52 percent.

Cypriots were choosing their leader at a critical time.

Their country faces the specter of financial meltdown, and the new president will be under pressure to quickly finalize a financial rescue package with the eurozone's other 16 countries and the International Monetary Fund.

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