(ANSA-AP) - BRATISLAVA, MARCH 16 - Voters in Slovakia are
selecting a new head of state in an election that could give the
country its first female president. The leading contenders are
Zuzana Caputova, an environmental activist in favor of gay
rights and who opposes a ban on abortion in the conservative
Roman Catholic country, and Maros Sefcovic, who is a 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. 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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