Slovaks voted on Saturday in the first round of a tight presidential election pitting the Moscow-leaning ruling camp against a pro-Kyiv candidate amid deep divisions in the country on the war in neighbouring Ukraine.
Candidates in the upcoming Slovakian Presidential elections Patrik Dubovsky, Krisztian Forro, Stefan Harabin, Ivan Korcok, Marian Kotleba, Jan Kubis, Igor Matovic, Milan Nahlik, Peter Pellegrini and Robert Svec are pictured before the start of the debate on public broadcaster television RTVS in Bratislava, Slovakia, on March 20, 2024.
Korcok is staunchly pro-Ukraine like outgoing president Zuzana Caputova, a government critic who chose not to seek a second term. “I have full confidence in him. He has great experience in managing the country, compared with the other candidates,” he told AFP. “The Slovak political scene is divided between those who are in favour of the continuation of the war at all costs, and those who demand the start of peace negotiations,” Pellegrini told AFP.His long-time ally Fico has over the years appointed Pellegrini to various positions, including parliamentary speaker and education minister.
“The first prerequisite for us to be able to talk about a peaceful solution to this war is that Russian missiles stop hitting Ukrainian schools and hospitals.” Other presidential contenders include pro-Kremlin former Supreme Court chief Stefan Harabin, far-right former lawmaker Marian Kotleba and anti-graft ex-premier Igor Matovic.Before flagging, please keep in mind that Disqus does not moderate communities. Your username will be shown to the moderator, so you should only flag this comment for one of the reasons listed above.