According to these results, Pellegrini received 53% of the votes, while his rival, the former foreign minister Ivans Korčoks, supported by the opposition, received 47% of the votes.
Voter turnout in the second round was 61%.
In the first round held on March 23, in which there were a total of nine candidates, no candidate won more than half of the votes, so a second round was held. In the first round, Korčok received 42% of the votes, and Pellegrini – 37% of the votes. Voter turnout in the first round was 52%.
The 48-year-old Pellegrini has been supported by Prime Minister Robert Fico, who has not only refused to provide Ukraine with military aid, but has even questioned its sovereignty and called for an agreement with the aggressor Russia.
Meanwhile, Korchok, 60, has voiced strong support for Ukraine in its fight against the invaders, a position similar to that of incumbent President Zuzana Chaputova, who is a fierce critic of the populist government but has decided not to seek a second five-year term.
Pellegrini “will support (..) the weakening of our ties with allies and partners in NATO and the European Union, weaker support for Ukraine and leaning towards Russia,” analyst Grigory Mesezhnikov told the AFP news agency.
Pellegrini has long been Fico’s associate and replaced his patron in the prime minister’s chair when he was forced to resign in 2018 following mass protests caused by the murder of journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee.
Kuciak tried to expose the connections of the Italian mafia with the left-wing populist party “Smer-SD” led by Fico, of which Pellegrini was also a member at the time, who now represents the party party “Hlas” he founded, which is still effectively a branch of “Smer-SD” and to the same extent is involved in corruption and dealings with organized crime.
Fico returned to the position of prime minister in 2023.
“I am running for president to save the government of Roberto Fico,” Pellegrini said in a televised debate with Korczak after the first round of elections.
Although the president in Slovakia basically performs only ceremonial functions, his powers include the ratification of international agreements and the appointment of judges, including the president of the Supreme Court. The head of state is also the commander-in-chief of the army.
The president also has the right to veto bills approved by the parliament.
2024-04-07 10:46:00
#candidate #proRussian #coalition #won #Slovak #presidential #election
