Slovakia elects successor to first female president.Allies of populist prime minister expected to win

Slovakia goes to the polls on Saturday to elect Zuzana Čaputová’s successor. Zuzana Čaputova is the country’s first female president and a staunch supporter of Slovakia’s neighboring Ukraine in its fight against two years of Russian aggression. She is not seeking re-election.

Peter Pellegrini, a close ally of Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico, is considered a front-runner to vie for the ceremonial presidency. He led nine candidates in the first round of the presidential election, becoming Slovakia’s sixth head of state since it gained independence after Czechoslovakia was split in two in 1993.

Voting will close at 2100 GMT and results are expected to be announced on Sunday.

If no candidate wins a majority (as expected), the top two candidates will go to a runoff on April 6.

Pellegrini, 48, who advocates a strong role for the state, is leader of the left-wing Hlas (Voice) party, which finished third in the Sept. 30 parliamentary election. His party forms a governing coalition with Fico’s Left Direction party and the ultra-nationalist Slovak National Party. The new government immediately stopped providing weapons to Ukraine.

Former Foreign Minister Ivan Korčok, 59, a pro-Western career diplomat, is his main rival.

“From my point of view, I did my best,” Kolchowk said on Saturday after casting his vote in the town of Senets, near the capital Bratislava. “The future of the country should be carefully considered by the people. What the Führer would be like.” “

Korczok also served as ambassador to the United States and Germany and firmly supported Slovakia’s accession to the European Union and NATO.

Most polls predict Pellegrini will win by a slim margin in the first round.

Štefan Harabin, a 66-year-old former justice minister and judge who has openly supported Russia in its war with Ukraine, is expected to finish third.

Ján Kubiš, another former foreign minister and career diplomat, and far-right leader Marian Kotleba are other prominent candidates.