Considered pro-Russian

Slovakia: Peter Pellegrini wins presidential election

Pellegrini (with raised fist) after the election victory, with Prime Minister Robert Fico to his left

(Bild: AP)

The new President of Slovakia is Peter Pellegrini. According to preliminary results and the counting of almost all polling stations, the current Social Democratic speaker of parliament received 53.26 percent of the vote. The non-party ex-diplomat Ivan Korcok received only 46.73 percent. In the first round of voting two weeks ago, the former foreign minister was just ahead of Pellegrini.

Around 4.3 million eligible voters in Slovakia were called upon on Saturday to elect a new head of state for the next five-year term of office. The result will have an impact on the future course of the country. Pellegrini is considered to belong to the pro-Russian camp.

The head-to-head duel generally expected in Slovakia therefore did not take place, with Pellegrini beating his rival by 6.5 percentage points. He is the sixth president of his country to be elected by the citizens in a direct election. Voter turnout was more than 61 percent.

New president is a Fico loyalist
Shortly after midnight, Pellegrini thanked his voters and supporters. "It is a great obligation for me, a tremendous honor," he said. After everything he had to put up with during the election campaign, it was also a great satisfaction, he added. Left-wing populist Prime Minister Robert Fico also stood by his side during the acceptance speech. He commented on the results, saying that it had become clear that a large part of the country wanted the style of government adopted by Fico's cabinet and a continuation of this policy.

Shortly beforehand, Korcok had conceded defeat, but at the same time strongly criticized the election campaign tactics of the government camp. Not only had it been proven "that you can become president by spreading hate". One can also win by making the other the "candidate of war", he explained, alluding to the narrative spread by government politicians that Korcok as president would drag Slovakia into the war in neighboring Ukraine. He said he respected the fact that a record-high voter turnout had decided the run-off election, but in his opinion it was also a result of fear. Korcok was supported by the pro-European liberal opposition.

Ivan Korcok with his sons - the non-party candidate had to concede defeat on election night.

(Bild: AP)

Only a minority is concerned about democracy
The result means a further boost for the left-wing populist Fico, who is seeking more control over the media, a softening of anti-corruption laws and less aid for Ukraine. And it also shows that the anti-government protests on the streets and the resistance of a section of middle-class society, the liberal opposition and the media did not reflect the overall mood in the deeply polarized EU and NATO country Slovakia. A larger part of society does not seem to share the concerns of Fico's critics about the rule of law and democracy and their clear support for Ukraine, which is under attack from Russia.

Fico stopped state military aid to neighboring Ukraine for defense against Russia because it only meant a continuation of the war, while he was for peace, he argued. He replaced the leadership of the police and important state authorities and initiated a controversial judicial reform last December, which both the liberal opposition and the EU Commission see as a threat to the rule of law in Slovakia. At the request of outgoing President Zuzana Caputova, the Constitutional Court has now temporarily suspended parts of the reform. Recently, Fico and his government have also been accused of attacks on press freedom. The opposition camp fears that as president, Pellegrini will merely be Fico's extended arm in the presidential palace.

I can't imagine that the country will calm down.

Der slowakische Meinungsforscher Martin Slosiarik am Wahlabend

Record voter turnout
Korcok received more than 1.2 million votes in the run-off, 200,000 fewer than Pellegrini. The decisive factor for the result was the record-high voter turnout, analyzed observers. Pellegrini received a very strong mandate, they said.

The reason for the high voter interest remains to be seen. "I can't say now whether it was really fear, whether it was the issue of the Ukraine conflict that mobilized voters," said Martin Slosiarik, head of the Focus polling agency. To a large extent, however, the result confirms the deep polarization of Slovakia, both camps will continue to face each other in the coming months, it could become very confrontational. "I can't imagine that the country will calm down," Slosiarik added.

Current president leaves on June 15
In fact, the president in Slovakia mainly has representative duties. However, as in Austria, his importance increases in times of crisis. For example, he can appoint a cabinet of experts according to his own ideas, as Caputova did after the fall of the right-wing conservative government of Eduard Heger last year. She herself did not want to run for a second term in office, partly due to frequent verbal attacks against her and her family from the government camp. The current president's term of office expires on June 15.