Former Foreign Minister Ivan Korkok and current parliament speaker Peter Pellegrini will face off in an April vote dominated by the Ukraine war.
According to the final results, Slovakia's former pro-Western foreign minister Ivan Korcok and current parliament speaker Peter Pellegrini will face off in April's presidential run-off.
The Slovak Statistical Office announced late Saturday that with 99.9% of votes counted, liberal Korcok led with 42.44% of 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.
The presidential election is a chance for Prime Minister Roberto Fico, whose views on Ukraine have angered critics for being too close to Russia, to tighten his grip on power.
President Zuzana Caputova, 50, who has been a fierce opponent of Fico, did not seek a new term. However, the rebels hope to challenge Fico's rule.
Mr. Colcoc, a career diplomat who served as a minister in previous governments, will advance to a run-off on April 6th, where he will face Mr. Pellegrini, who leads the Fras (Voice) party.
Pro-Russian former Supreme Court Chief Justice Stefan Harabin received the third-highest number of votes with just 11.75%, backed by nationalist parties also part of the coalition government. His voters may support Mr. Pellegrini.
“We must certainly speak to the tens of thousands of coalition voters who do not agree with what the government is trying to do to pull Slovakia,” Korcok told supporters.
Fico and his ruling leftist Smer party won parliamentary elections last September on a pledge to suspend military aid to Ukraine and maintain support for the country's people, who have been hit by soaring prices.
Mr Pellegrini, a former member of the Smer party, holds the key to forming a coalition government, and the results of the first round show that the majority do not want a “liberal-progressive” president who will only be at odds with the government. said.
“The majority of Slovaks are interested in having a president who will protect their national interests,” he said.
Although presidents do not exercise much executive power, they can play a role in government and judicial appointments, veto laws, and shape public debate, as the liberal Mr. Caputois often did. can do.
Voters have previously favored giving ruling parties both the government and the presidency, including Caputova's victory in 2019, when anti-corruption sentiment hurt Fico's party, which was then in power. I have refused.
Radoslav Stefanczyk, a political analyst at the Bratislava University of Economics, said: “This election is a result of the large-scale protests that have taken place in Bratislava and other major cities in recent weeks, as opposed to people who would normally express their disapproval at the polling stations. “It will show whether or not it is supported by people who are in the same position.” .
