Slovaks began voting on Saturday April 8 for the second round of the presidential election, closer than ever. A vote against a backdrop of war in neighboring Ukraine generating controversial positions on the part of Bratislava.
Former diplomat Ivan Korcok, pro-Western, and Peter Pellegrini, close to the government skeptical of kyiv, face each other in this last round, and are neck and neck according to the latest polls.
Peter Pellegrini, 48-year-old president of parliament, is credited with 51% of voting intentions, compared to 49% for Ivan Korcok, 60, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, according to a survey by the Focus institute.
“This is the closest presidential race ever,” Vaclav Hrich, director general of the AKO polling institute, told AFP.
The anti-European and pro-Russian Stefan Harabin, who came third in the first round with 12% of the vote, did not support any of the candidates before the second round. However, "Ivan Korcok is unlikely to collect his votes," Tomas Koziak, an analyst at the ISM Slovakia University of International Affairs, told AFP.
According to an AKO poll, more than two thirds of Stefan Harabin's voters intend to support Peter Pellegrini.
Debate on support for Ukraine
Russia's invasion of neighboring Ukraine has become an essential element of the electoral campaign in this country of 5.4 million inhabitants, a member of the EU and NATO, particularly since the populist Prime Minister Robert Fico, an ally of Peter Pellegrini, questioned Kiev's sovereignty and called for peace with Moscow.
Peter Pellegrini was a minister in Robert Fico's previous governments and even replaced him as head of government in 2018. "I am running for president to save Robert Fico's government," Peter Pellegrini said during a televised debate with Ivan Korcok.
“You want to protect the government. I want to protect Slovakia,” his rival replied.
In place since last October, the government made up of Robert Fico's Smer party, Peter Pellegrini's Hlas party and the small far-right SNS party, has interrupted military aid to Ukraine.
“Ivan Korcok is a warmonger who will unhesitatingly support whatever the West tells him, including dragging Slovakia into war,” accuses Robert Fico in a video.
"The Slovak political scene is divided between those who are in favor of continuing the war at all costs and those who demand the start of peace negotiations," Peter Pellegrini told AFP. “I belong to the latter category,” he added.
Ivan Korcok, a vocal critic of the government and supported by the opposition, is resolutely pro-Ukraine. "The Russian Federation has trampled on international law (...) I do not think that Ukraine should give up part of its territory to achieve peace," Ivan Korcok told AFP.
The Hungarian example
“If Peter Pellegrini wins, Slovakia risks following Orban's path in terms of foreign policy,” said analyst Tomas Koziak, referring to the Hungarian Prime Minister.
Hungary is seen as a troublemaker within the EU, criticized over rule of law issues and hampering the bloc's efforts to help Ukraine.
“Korcok's pro-Western orientation is absolutely obvious, his attitude towards Russia would be uncompromising,” according to Tomas Koziak.
"I don't want Fico and his friends to occupy everything in Slovakia, that's why I chose Ivan Korcok. He is a real democratic politician," Frantisek Hazik, 31, who works in Bratislava.
For Helena Vaclavova, 67, retired, the choice is obvious: "I know that Peter Pellegrini only wants good for this country, I voted for him. He will defend us against everything and will be a good president."
Although his function is primarily ceremonial, the president ratifies international treaties, appoints key judges, and is commander in chief of the armed forces. He can also veto laws passed by Parliament.
Polling stations opened at 05:00 GMT on Saturday and closed at 20:00 GMT. Provisional results are expected around midnight.
With AFP
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