Presidential candidate Peter Pellegrini smiles in his seat after a presidential runoff in Bratislava, Slovakia, Saturday, April 6, 2024. Pellegrini is a close ally of populist Prime Minister Robert Fico, known for his pro-Russian policies.
Denes Erdos/AP
hide caption
toggle caption
Denes Erdos/AP
Presidential candidate Peter Pellegrini smiles in his seat after a presidential runoff in Bratislava, Slovakia, Saturday, April 6, 2024. Pellegrini is a close ally of populist Prime Minister Robert Fico, known for his pro-Russian policies.
Denes Erdos/AP
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — A close ally of populist Prime Minister Robert Fico defeated a pro-Western career diplomat to become Slovakia’s new president and succeed Zuzana Čaputová, the country’s first female head of state.
Parliament President Peter Pellegrini received 53.26% of the vote as ballots from almost all polling stations were counted by the Statistics Office in Saturday’s runoff election, edging out the former minister of Foreign Affairs Ivan Korčok who obtained 46.73%.
“I can promise that I will be the president of all Slovak citizens,” Pellegrini said. “I can promise that I will always stand by Slovakia.”
Pellegrini becomes Slovakia’s sixth president since the country gained independence following the split from Czechoslovakia in 1993.
Čaputová, a staunch supporter of neighboring Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion, did not seek a second term in the largely ceremonial post.
Pellegrini’s victory consolidated Fico’s hold on power by giving him and his allies control of major strategic positions.
The president of this country of 5.4 million inhabitants chooses the Prime Minister after the legislative elections, swears in the new government and appoints the judges of the Constitutional Court. The president can also veto laws, although Parliament can override this veto by simple majority and challenge them in the Constitutional Court. The head of state also has the right to pardon the convicted.
The government, headed by the Prime Minister, has most executive powers.
Fico’s left-wing Smer (Direction) party won the September 30 parliamentary elections on a pro-Russian and anti-American platform.
Pellegrini, 48, who favors a strong state role, leads the left-wing Hlas (Voice) party, which finished third in the vote and joined a governing coalition with Fico and the ultranationalist Slovak National Party.
Critics fear that Fico’s Slovakia will abandon its pro-Western path and follow the direction of Hungary under populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
The new government immediately stopped all arms deliveries to Ukraine. Recently, thousands of people have taken to the streets of Slovakia on several occasions to rally against Fico’s pro-Russian and other policies, including his plan to change the criminal code and take control of state media.
“A majority of citizens in Slovakia said they prefer this way of governing,” Fico said in his comments.
Korčok criticized government measures that protesters said could undermine the rule of law, while Pellegrini supported the new government and did not question its policies.
Korčok is the former ambassador to the United States and Germany, who also served as the country’s envoy to NATO and the European Union. He strongly supports Slovakia’s membership in the EU and NATO.
He admitted defeat and congratulated the winner.
“I’m disappointed,” he said of the result.
Pellegrini, who was Fico’s former deputy at Smer, became prime minister in 2018, after Fico was forced to resign following major anti-government protests following the murder of journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée.
Pellegrini had temporarily parted ways with Fico after scandal-tainted Smer lost the previous election in 2020.
With Pellegrini’s victory, Fico rebounded from two consecutive defeats in presidential elections. Fico was defeated in the presidential vote by Andrej Kiska 10 years ago, while Čaputová claimed victory over a candidate he had supported in the 2019 vote.
NPR News
