Top Slovak presidential election contenders at odds over Ukraine
Slovaks will vote tomorrow in a presidential election seen as a race between the ruling populist camp leaning towards Russia and a proUkrainian candidate backed by the opposition.
The clear front runners of the pool of nine contenders are Peter Pellegrini, a former prime minister and current speaker of parliament, and liberal ex-foreign minister Ivan Korcok.
Opinion polls prior to the March 23 ballot have suggested government-backed Pellegrini had a marginally higher chance of becoming president of the NATO and EU member than Korcok.
The two are likely to face each other in a runoff set for April 6, as neither is on track to garner the at least 50 per cent of votes required to win in a single round.
Polling stations across the country will open at 7am, with no exit polls expected immediately after they close at 10pm.
Pellegrini won the backing of Prime Minister Robert Fico, who in the past months has refused to provide military aid to Ukraine, questioned its sovereignty and called for peace with Russia.
His main rival Korcok is staunchly proUkrainian and holds similar views to outgoing President Zuzana Caputova, a vocal government critic who chose not to run for a second term.
Analysts say the outcome in the country of 5.4 million people will either temper or harden its scepticism towards war-torn Ukraine.
“In the event of Pellegrini’s victory, we may expect a further deepening of the current government position and current narratives,” said Michal Mislovic, a political analyst at the Median polling agency.
“If Korcok wins, we can at least expect that he will be a counterweight to the government and parliament in this regard,” he told AFP.
Pollsters expect a tight race. The latest survey by the AKO agency showed that Pellegrini would take 40 per cent of the vote, while Korcok would receive 38. (AFP)