- The Social Democratic parliamentary speaker Peter Pellegrini is likely to have won the presidential election in Slovakia.
- After counting over 99 percent of the electoral districts, he was clearly ahead of the liberal opposition candidate Ivan Korcok with almost 47 percent, with a good 53 percent of the votes, as the Slovakian statistics office announced late in the evening.
- Outgoing President Zuzana Caputova did not run for a second term.
Pellegrini’s victory will strengthen pro-Russian Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who is seeking greater control over the media, weakening anti-corruption laws and less aid to Ukraine. Pellegrini was a long-time ally of Fico, but is considered more moderate than Fico.
Pellegrini initially opposed the change in foreign policy
Pellegrini recently said his election would not mean a hasty change in foreign policy. “This is not about the future direction of foreign policy, but like the other candidates, I guarantee that we will continue to be a strong member of the EU and NATO.” The EU and NATO country Slovakia borders Ukraine.
According to observers, Korcok’s deficit was too great to be able to catch up. According to preliminary information, voter turnout was almost 60 percent, clearly higher than the first round of voting on March 23rd with 52 percent.
Korcok still ahead in the first round of voting
In a first round of voting on March 23, Korcok, who was supported by the liberal and conservative opposition parties, surprisingly won by five and a half percentage points over Pellegrini, who was supported by part of the left-wing national three-party coalition led by the left-wing populist Robert Fico.
Around 4.4 million voters were asked to take part in the runoff election. The liberal incumbent Zuzana Caputova did not run for a second five-year term despite her still great popularity.