Former Slovak minister of foreign affairs Ivan Korcok and Slovak National Council Speaker Peter Pellegrini are to face off in next month’s presidential election runoff, near-final results showed on Saturday.
The liberal Korcok led with 42.44 percent backing with 99.9 percent of the vote counted, while former prime minister Pellegrini earned 37.07 percent, the Slovak Statistical Office said.
The result was expected by analysts as the 48-year-old Pellegrini and 59-year-old Korcok topped the opinion polls before the vote marked by deep divisions on the war in neighboring Ukraine.
Photo: Reuters
Korcok, backed by the opposition, is staunchly pro-Ukraine like outgoing Slovak President Zuzana Caputova, a government critic who chose not to seek a second term.
Pellegrini is a part of the Russia-leaning ruling camp led by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who has questioned Ukraine’s sovereignty and called for peace with Russia.
Although the office is largely ceremonial, Slovakia’s president ratifies international treaties, appoints top judges and is commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
The head of the NATO and EU member of 5.4 million people can also veto laws passed by parliament.
Korcok, who would likely face stiff opposition from the Fico team if elected, said he would “like to address all voters” before the runoff on Saturday next week.
“I want to appeal to voters who disagree with the direction this government is dragging Slovakia ... including in foreign policy,” he said.
“I want to be a president who ... will represent the country abroad and at home and who will take independent decisions, without getting orders,” he added.
Pellegrini hailed the result as “a huge success,” pointing out that many voters opted for nationalists among the nine presidential candidates.
“The results have shown that most people in Slovakia do not want a liberal, progressive president,” he said.
Most Slovaks want “a president who will defend Slovakia’s national interests, who will not drag Slovakia into a war, but will talk about peace, who ... will put Slovakia’s interests first,” he added.
Bratislava-based analyst Pavol Babos said that Pellegrini would “most likely act as an ally for the government coalition led by Robert Fico.”
The Cabinet, in office since October last year, has refused to provide military aid to Ukraine, battling a Russian invasion since February 2022.
Pellegrini also urged “an immediate ceasefire and the opening of peace negotiations” on Ukraine in the last presidential debate.
Korcok, a diplomat who has represented Slovakia in the US, Germany and Switzerland, has instead urged Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine.
“The Russian Federation has trampled on international law ... I do not think Ukraine should give up part of its territory to achieve peace,” he said.
Korcok would “very likely be a counterweight to the government coalition and ... seek to correct the government’s undemocratic tendencies” at home, Babos said.
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