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The elections this Saturday, April 6, are considered a decisive day to determine the country's relationship with the European Union, since the two candidates in the runoff reflect the polarization of the country: between the pro-European Ivan Korcok, who wants to maintain healthy relations with Brussels, and Peter Pellegrini, an openly pro-Russian nationalist candidate.
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4.4 million voters were called to the polls for the second round that will decide the tie between the two candidates for power, a scenario that occurs after the current president, Zuzana Caputová, the liberal and pro-European lawyer who became the first head of state in 2019, will not run for a second five-year term, despite her continued popularity.
In the first round, former Foreign Minister Ivan Korck won the first round after receiving 42.5% of the votes, while Pellegrini finished second with 37% of support, however, the two advanced to the second round after that none of the nine candidates won an absolute majority.
“It's likely to be an extremely close race,” Pellegrini said after casting his vote in Rovinka, near Bratislava. “Both sides appeared to be successful in mobilizing their supporters.”
The most recent results from the Focus institute showed a voting intention of 51% for Pellegrini, 48, and 49% for Korcok, 60. The anti-European and pro-Russian Stefan Harabin, who two weeks ago came third in the first round with 12% of votes, did not support either of the two final candidates.
In Slovakia, where there is a prime minister, the president has a representative function with few executive powers, but he can veto laws or challenge them before the Constitutional Court, he is also the head of the Armed Forces and appoints high court judges. constitutional. With this, his functions also represent an important role if there is an institutional crisis.
Back Ukraine or get closer to Russia
Pellegrini has the backing of the coalition of left-wing nationalist and Prime Minister Robert Fico, who has suspended military aid to Ukraine and who at different times has declared himself pro-Russian.
The candidate, current president of Parliament, has argued that there is no military solution to the war between Russia and Ukraine.
“I am running for the Presidency to save the Government of Robert Fico,” Pellegrini said in a televised debate with his rival. “You want to protect the Government, I want to protect Slovakia,” replied Korcok, who defends that military support for kyiv must continue to resist Russian aggression.
For this second round, Pellegrini aims to achieve the support of the Hungarian minority, 10% of the population, which had a low participation in the first round.
Slovakia: pro-Russian Robert Fico leads with more than 90% counted and puts the EU and NATO in check
The independent Korcok was Slovakia's envoy to the EU and then ambassador to the United States, before assuming the Foreign Affairs portfolio in center-right governments in 2021-2022, in a period in which Slovakia was an unconditional ally of Ukraine.
Korcok has assured that he does not want Fico and his entire coalition to have executive positions in the Government and to speak against a change in anti-Western policy by the prime minister.
Voters have the task of choosing who will be the candidate who will determine the socio-economic situation of the country, hit by inflation and the emigration of qualified young people.
The winner will become the country's sixth head of state since Slovakia gained independence in 1993, after Czechoslovakia split in two.
With AP, Reuters and local media
