Government
Slovakia: presidential runoff election
A woman casts her vote in the presidential elections in Slovakia. photo
© Petr David Josek/AP/dpa
A runoff election must decide who will become Slovakia’s president. In it, the liberal former Foreign Minister Korcok meets the Social Democrat Pellegrini. The country remains divided.
The question of who will be the new head of state in Slovakia will not be decided until April 6th Runoff election. Then the former foreign minister and diplomat Ivan Korcok, who is supported by the liberal opposition, and the Social Democratic parliamentary speaker Peter Pellegrini, who is part of the government camp, will compete against each other.
According to the preliminary final results, Korcok won the first round of the presidential election with 42.5 percent, as the electoral commission announced. Pellegrini got 37.0 percent. The voter turnout reached 51.9 percent.
The counting of results ended in an unexpectedly exciting way. Initially, the Social Democratic Parliament President Peter Pellegrini, who belongs to the government camp, was clearly ahead of the former foreign minister and diplomat Ivan Korcok, who was supported by the liberal opposition. After counting the last electoral districts, the result turned around in Korcok’s favor after midnight.
Pellegrini and Korcok in presidential runoff
The third strongest candidate was the pro-Russian nationalist and former Justice Minister Stefan Harabin with 11.7 percent. The election results should be officially confirmed by Sunday afternoon. Despite her continued popularity, incumbent President Zuzana Caputova decided not to run for a second five-year term.
Korcok had promised during the election campaign to be a counterweight to the left-wing nationalist government under Prime Minister Robert Fico. Pellegrini, on the other hand, had the slogan “Slovakia needs calm!” advocated overcoming the deep domestic political divide.
The attitude towards the Russian war of aggression against the neighboring country is also one of the conflict issues that divide the country’s politics and society. The EU and NATO country Slovakia borders directly on Ukraine. Korcok advocates decisive military support for Ukraine. Pellegrini, on the other hand, urges caution when it comes to arms deliveries, citing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.