Slovak parliament speaker Peter Pellegrini on Monday set presidential elections for March and April this year. He said he planned to replace retiring Zuzana Čaputová.
Peter Pellegrini, who constitutionally sets the election dates, said the first round would be held on 23 March and the run-off, to be held in the likely case that no candidate wins outright majority, on April 6.
The vote is likely to be a showdown between the ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Robert Fico and independent candidates who are closer to the liberal opposition.
EU and NATO presidents do not have much day-to-day power, but they can veto laws or challenge them in the constitutional court. A victory for Pellegrini, leader of the government’s Hlas (“Voice”) party, would consolidate the coalition’s power. Pellegrini said after announcing the election dates at a news conference:
If the party leadership agrees my candidacy and all requirements are met, then…I will announce my candidacy on Jan. 19.
Peter’s main rivals in the election will be former foreign minister in the previous government, Ivan Korcok, 59, and an international diplomat and foreign minister from earlier Fico era, Jan Kubis, 71.
Opinion polls suggest Pellegrini, 48, would have an advantage over other candidates in a hypothetical runoff. Other candidates could emerge, including nationalists from the government camp.
Fico formed a government coalition with former party ally Pellegrini and the SNS party after winning parliamentary elections in September 2023.
The new government has cut off official military aid to Ukraine and begun accelerating criminal law and prosecutorial reforms that have raised concerns in the European Union and the United States over a potential weakening of the rule of law. Presidents can slow down legislation by using veto power and can also go to the constitutional court to question laws that have been passed.
