The voters in Slovakia, went ahead with on March 23, 2024, to elect a successor to the Slovakia’s first female President, Zuzana Caputová.
Who is Zuzana Caputová?
Zuzana Čaputová is the first female to hold the position of President . Also she is the youngest President in the the history of the country. She happens to be not only a politician but also a lawyer and environmental activist. Zuzana Čaputováis is the fifth president since 2019. She got elected as the President when she was 45 years of age. Čaputová is believed to strongly backing Ukraine. She is supporting Ukraine in its fight against the invasion of Russia. Zuzana isn’t seeking for the next second term.
Peter Pellegrini
Peter Pellegrini, is considered to be an ally of Robert Fico, the populist Prime Minister. Peter Pellegrini is believed to be one of the most favorite candidates amongst the others, contesting for the position of President.
After the split of Czechoslovakia, Slovakia got independent in the year 1993 and since then this will be the sixth President of the country. Peter Pellegrini is leading amongst the nine other candidates in the first round of the election.
A Brief about Pellegrini
Peter Pellegrini, was the Prime Minister of Slovakia since 2018 till 2020. Also he was the Health Minister from the end of 2019 till March 2020. He has also served as deputy prime minister and Education and Science Minister. Pellegrini has also held the position of speaker of the National Council for two years.
The Current Scenerio of Elections
It is being said that in the case where no candidate manages to get a majority, then there will be a runoff on April 6,2024 between the top two.
Peter Pellegrini is the head of the left-wing Hlas (Voice) party, that got third in the parliamentary election which were held on September 30. Pellegrini’s party tied up with the coalition with leftist Smer (Direction) party, and Slovak National Party.As soon as this this government was formed, it stopped sending arms to Ukraine .Pellegrini said on Saturday, after casting the vote that, the membership of Slovakia has not been questioned and asked about in both NATO and in European Union.
Ivan Korcok, Former Foreign Minister
The 59 year old Former Foreign Minsiter , Ivan Korcok, who is a pro-Western diplomat is the major rival of Peter Pellegrini. On 23rd March, 2024, after casting the vote in Senec which is very close to the national capital Bratislava said that he did all that he could for this . He said that it will be upto the people of Slovakia to choose very carefully , what they wish the future head of the country should look like. He is a staunch supporter of the membership of Slovakia in NATO and European Union.
Ivan Korčok is a retired diplomat, he was the Foreign Minister and the Minister of European Affairs of Slovakia from 2020 till 2022. Korčok was as an independent nominee from the Freedom and Solidarity Party. He had also held the position of the ambassador of Slovakia to Germany and United States of America.
As per the polls , as mentioned in an article in The Indian Express, it is expected that Pellegrini will have a win by a few more than others in the first round.
