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Slovakia could get its first woman president in ballot
Caputova challenging Sefcovic, EU Commission vice-president
15 March, 20:03
(ANSA-AP) - BRATISLAVA, 15 MAR - Slovakia could get its first
woman president as voters elect a new head of state on Saturday.
The leading contenders are Zuzana Caputova, an environmental activist who is in favor of gay rights and opposes a ban on abortion in this conservative Roman Catholic country, and Maros Sefcovic, an establishment figure who is the European Commission Vice-President. In all, 13 candidates are vying to become the country's fifth head of state since Slovakia gained independence in 1993 after Czechoslovakia split in two. Andrej Kiska, a successful businessman-turned-philanthropist, is not standing for a second five-year term in the largely ceremonial post. His term in office was marked by clashes with former prime minister Robert Fico, considered a populist leader.
Kiska supported the huge street protests that led to the fall of Fico's coalition government amid a political crisis triggered by the slayings last year of an investigative reporter and his fiancee. The reporter, Jan Kuciak, was investigating possible widespread government corruption and Italian mob influence. If no single candidate wins a majority on Saturday, a runoff will be held on March 30 in this central European nation of 5.4 million people. (ANSA-AP).
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The leading contenders are Zuzana Caputova, an environmental activist who is in favor of gay rights and opposes a ban on abortion in this conservative Roman Catholic country, and Maros Sefcovic, an establishment figure who is the European Commission Vice-President. In all, 13 candidates are vying to become the country's fifth head of state since Slovakia gained independence in 1993 after Czechoslovakia split in two. Andrej Kiska, a successful businessman-turned-philanthropist, is not standing for a second five-year term in the largely ceremonial post. His term in office was marked by clashes with former prime minister Robert Fico, considered a populist leader.
Kiska supported the huge street protests that led to the fall of Fico's coalition government amid a political crisis triggered by the slayings last year of an investigative reporter and his fiancee. The reporter, Jan Kuciak, was investigating possible widespread government corruption and Italian mob influence. If no single candidate wins a majority on Saturday, a runoff will be held on March 30 in this central European nation of 5.4 million people. (ANSA-AP).
