Former Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini, an ally of current Prime Minister Robert Fico and known for his pro-Russian positions, won the second round of Slovakia's presidential election on Saturday.
Pellegrini, leader of the Hlas (The Voice) party and president of the Slovak Parliament, won 53.26% of the total vote, against 46.73% for former foreign minister and pro-European candidate Ivan Korčak in the election. . Pellegrini was replaced by European supporter Jusana Caputova, who decided not to run again.
Although lacking executive powers, Slovakia's president can veto legislation or refer it to the Constitutional Court and that judiciary has the power to appoint judges. This may be particularly important, he says site Politico in a potential fight over reforms Fico wants to significantly reduce penalties for corruption crimes.
Slovakia, Presidential Election (Second) Results:
All polling stations were counted
Pellegrini (Hlas-S&D): 53%
Gorgak: 47% ?https://t.co/UNYq3A7dXc #Slovakia #Slovensko #Volby2024
pic.twitter.com/dQYAxsosNh — Europe Elections (@EuropeElects)
April 7, 2024
In 2018, Figo, then prime minister, elected Pellegrini as head of government when Figo stepped down following massive public protests after the murders of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his girlfriend Martina Kuznirova. Despite leaving Fico's party to establish his own political organization, he joined the government in the last legislative election last September when the center-left nationalist Prime Minister and pro-Russian Directorate-Social Democracy (SMAR) party won. year. The alliance includes Smar from Figo, Hlas from Pellegrini and themselves Radical nationalists Pro-Russian
of the NHS.
The opposition accuses Pellegrini of doing nothing to stop Figo's assault on justice, including the end of a public body set up to investigate corruption and serious crimes he accused 20 years ago. Several members of Smarin were in charge of prosecuting those responsible for the murders of Kusiak and Kuznirova, the BBC reported.
The Fico government also proposed plans to abolish the state's public broadcaster and replace it with one under de facto full state control. The BBC says the plans were put on hold when Pellegrini came second in the first round of the presidential election two weeks ago.
Opposition parties fear that the plans will now be presented again and approved with the new President's green flag.
More moderate than Fico, Pellegrini also bet, however, on a campaign similar to that of the prime minister for the legislative elections. I promise End military support From Slovakia to occupied Russia.
Slovakia, under the previous government, was a strong ally of Ukraine, sending air defense systems and its full fleet of MiG-29 fighter jets (many analysts pointed out that not much military equipment has been sent, so Figo's promise has largely been misplaced).
In the presidential campaign, Pellegrini accused his opponent of being a warmonger and wanting to arm Ukraine at any cost, suggesting that Gorkoc could send Slovak soldiers to fight in Ukraine, which the opposition candidate denied.
“I will do everything so that Slovakia will always be on the side of peace and not on the side of war,” Pellegrini was quoted as saying by Reuters.
“You can win a campaign by presenting the other as a war candidate. I will never forget this”, said Korgok, adding that “fear and hatred” determined the outcome of the vote.