(6 Apr 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Bratislava - 6 April 2024
1. Various of people casting their vote
STORYLINE:
Polls opened in Slovakia’s presidential runoff on Saturday morning.
A pro-Western career diplomat and a close ally of populist Prime Minister Robert Fico are facing each other to determine who will be the next head of state.
Former Foreign Minister Ivan Korčok is up against Peter Pellegrini, who heads a coalition party in Fico’s government, in the vote for the largely ceremonial post as president of the nation of 5.4 million.
A victory for Pellegrini, who currently serves as Parliament speaker, would cement Fico’s power by giving him and his allies control of major strategic posts.
It would also deprive Slovakia and the European Union of a key pro-Ukrainian voice.
The current president, Zuzana Čaputová, a staunch backer of Slovakia’s neighbor Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s two-year invasion, did not stand for a second term.
The latest public polls predict a tight race.
The winner will become the country’s sixth head of state since Slovakia gained independence in 1993 after Czechoslovakia split in two.
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