E fundit!

20:39 TODAY

Video-Unusual hail, Cologne "whitens" in the summer

Cologne was hit this Tuesday by weather that was not only ...

Slovakian presidential election/ Pro-Western candidate wins first round

2024-03-24 17:35:12, Kosova & Bota CNA

The presidential elections in Slovakia have resulted in the winner of the pro-Western diplomat Ivan Korcok, who will face the candidate Peter Pellegrini, a close ally of the leftist Prime Minister Robert Fico, in the runoff. The winner of the second round of elections, to be held on April 6, will succeed Mrs. Zuzana Caputova, Slovakia's first female president and a strong supporter of Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression.

Pro-Western diplomat Ivan Korcok has won the first round of the presidential election in Slovakia against candidate Peter Pellegrini, a close ally of leftist Prime Minister Robert Fico. The winner of the runoff will succeed Mrs. Zuzana Caputova, Slovakia's first female president.

"My candidate won. I am satisfied and I hope that the runoff will continue like this. I do not identify myself with the party of candidate Pellegrini. So I think that an independent candidate is the best solution" , says voter Patricie Illichova.

Ivan Korcok has served as Slovakia's ambassador to the United States and Germany and strongly supports his country's membership in the EU and NATO.

"Ivan Korcok won the first round with a narrow margin of about five percent, which means that society is divided, that society is really worried after Robert Fico's victory in the September elections. This implies that the rapid changes are going in the wrong direction. The slogan "they can't have everything" seems to have worked with the majority of the electorate," says analyst Miroslav Vlachovsky with the GLOBSEC organization.

Slovakia, a country with 5.4 million inhabitants, will hold the second round of presidential elections on April 6. The pro-Western candidate warned of the danger posed to the country by Russian influence.

"We should not isolate ourselves because some politicians bow to Russia, are submitting to this aggressor and do not dare to say this in the eyes of the voters. They simply hide because they think they will score domestic political points. I'm not like that," said presidential candidate Ivan Korcok, former Foreign Minister of Slovakia.

Pre-election opinion polls suggested a lead for candidate Peter Pellegrini, a close ally of leftist Prime Minister Robert Fico. A run-off victory for Mr Pellegrini, currently Speaker of the Slovak Parliament, would strengthen Prime Minister Fico's power, giving him and allies control of strategic posts in the country.

Candidate Pellegrini's party has joined the ruling coalition, which immediately after coming to power cut off the supply of weapons to Ukraine. The current president, Zuzana Caputova, who is not running for re-election, has been a strong supporter of Ukraine in the fight against Russian aggression./ VOA