Slovakia's former foreign minister Ivan Korcok and current parliament speaker Peter Pellegrini will face off in April's presidential election run-off, the near-final results revealed on Saturday.
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According to the Slovak Statistical Institute, with 99.9% of the votes counted, liberal Korcok led with 42.44% support, while former Prime Minister Pellegrini received 37.07%.
Analysts had expected this outcome, as opinion polls before the vote had shown that Pellegrini, 48, and Korcok, 59, were leading the divide over the war in neighboring Ukraine.
Korkok is backed by opposition parties and is staunchly pro-Ukrainian, like outgoing President Zuzana Kaptova, a government critic who has chosen not to seek a second term.
Former Prime Minister Pellegrini is a member of Prime Minister Roberto Fico's pro-Russia ruling party, which has questioned Ukraine's sovereignty and called for peace with Russia.
Although this position is largely ceremonial, the Slovak president ratifies international treaties, appoints the supreme court, and is also the supreme commander of the armed forces.
The heads of state of NATO and the EU, which has a population of 5.4 million people, can also veto laws passed by parliament.
“Slovakia's interests come first”
Mr. Colcok is likely to face stiff opposition from his FICO team if elected, but he said he would like to “address all voters” before the April 6 run-off.
“We want to appeal to voters who do not agree with the direction this government is taking Slovakia, including in foreign policy.”
“I want to be a president who represents the country both abroad and at home, and who makes independent decisions without taking orders,” Colcock added.
Pellegrini hailed the result as a “huge success”, noting that many voters chose a nationalist candidate out of nine presidential candidates.
“The results showed that most Slovak citizens do not want a liberal and progressive president,” he said.
Pellegrini added that the majority of Slovaks want “a president who will protect Slovakia's national interests, who will talk about peace and not drag Slovakia into war, who will put Slovakia's interests first.”
But voting early on Saturday, he insisted that Slovakia would remain entrenched in the European Union and NATO after the election.
“Calm and smart”
At a voting station in Bratislava, pensioner Juraj Janković said Pellegrini was a “calm and sensible prime minister and would make a good president.”
Graphic designer Zora Puskakova said Korcok was “deserve to represent Slovakia abroad”.
Bratislava-based analyst Pavol Babos told AFP that Pellegrini “is most likely to act as an ally of Robert Fico's coalition government.”
The two are long-standing political allies, with Mr. Fico appointing Mr. Pellegrini to various positions over the years, including president of parliament and minister of education.
Mr. Pellegrini also became prime minister in 2018 after Mr. Fico was ousted as prime minister.
The Slovak cabinet, which has been in office since October last year and is made up of Fico's Smer party, Pellegrini's HLAS party and the far-right SNS party, has been in charge of providing military aid to Ukraine, which has been fighting Russian aggression since February 2022. is refusing.
“Counter weight”
Pellegrini also called for an “immediate ceasefire and the start of peace negotiations” regarding Ukraine during the last presidential debate.
Korcok, a diplomat who has represented Slovakia in the United States, Germany and Switzerland, instead urged Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine.
“The Russian Federation has trampled on international law…I don't think Ukraine should give up part of its territory to achieve peace,” he told AFP.
Mr Babos said Mr Korcok was “very likely to act as a counterweight to the coalition government and aim to correct the government's undemocratic tendencies at home”.
Fico's cabinet has recently come under fire for adopting controversial criminal law reforms, including easing penalties for corruption and economic crimes.
Mr. Colcoc is running as an independent but has the backing of opposition parties who believe that Mr. Pellegrini's victory will pave the way for presidential pardons for government allies convicted of corruption.
(AFP)
