PRAGUE — Very few people in Central Europe would have known the name Zuzana Ĉaputová a few months ago, but now the liberal activist from Slovakia is expected to become the first female president of…

PRAGUE — Very few people in Central Europe would have known the name Zuzana Ĉaputová a few months ago, but now the liberal activist from Slovakia is expected to become the first female president of her country when Slovaks head to the polls this Saturday.

Despite having no experience in public office, Ĉaputová is winning the support of Slovaks, who for more than a year have staged nationwide protests following the murder of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak. Her meteoric rise is a rebuke to a government perceived by many as corrupt and undemocratic.

With Ĉaputová forecast for a decisive victory this weekend, experts say the public backlash against the ruling center-left Smer political party could set an example for opponents of nationalist movements that have dominated politics in countries like Hungary and Poland. They also say she could prove a significant factor in the neighboring Czech Republic, with whom Slovaks once shared a country. It is currently led by populist pro-Russian President Milos Zeman.

But larger forces may also be in play as observers say that a win for Ĉaputová could reinvigorate opponents of a nationalist movement that has swept the region in recent years.

“The election will definitely serve as encouragement for all liberal democratic people in Central Europe,” says Grigorij Meseznikov, director of the Institute for Public Affairs, a think tank in the capital Bratislava. “In the Czech Republic people are more fluent about Slovakia and there are strong relations, so there could be a direct affect.”

An environmental lawyer by trade, the 45-year-old Ĉaputová, called by fellow lawyers “Slovakia’s Erin Brockovich,” entered the political fray a year ago as the anti-corruption candidate, promising a fresh start for a country that has endured rampant scandals since it split from the former Czechoslovakia in 1993. With support waning for Smer following the Kuciak killing, Ĉaputová rode her activist background from single-digit support in the polls last year to draw 40.57 percent of the votes in the first-round election on March 16.

“One does not seem to have to abandon their values, one can be authentic and true, and not have to choose a populist vocabulary to address voters — maybe just the opposite,” she told supporters after the ballots were counted.

With days to go until the small country of 5.5 million is set to vote, Ĉaputová is the overwhelming front-runner. According to a local opinion poll released on March 21, she is expected to take 60.5 percent support, putting her well ahead of her opponent, ruling party-backed European commissioner Maroš Šefčovič.

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“She carries the message of the 2018 protests and says the same things that people demanded in the streets,” says Michaela Terenzani, editor-in-chief of English-language newspaper The Slovak Spectator. “After all that has happened last year, [the election] has so far confirmed the trend that people refuse the politics represented by Smer, and call for a change. That change is Ĉaputová.”

A Ĉaputová victory would be significant for a region that, 30 years after throwing down communist rule, is seeing its politics turn populist and nationalistic. A Ĉaputová win also would be compelling in Slovakia, which has witnessed a series of post-communist leaders such as former Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar who have been criticized internationally for their autocratic style of governance.

Since becoming the country’s largest party in 2012, Smer used a populist platform to strengthen political support under the leadership of Robert Fico, the former prime minister. Traditionally pro- European Union in nature, the party has taken a more skeptical position on European leaders in Brussels and a hardline stance against migration. Like his nationalist counterpart in Hungary, Viktor Orban, Fico has stirred controversy by promoting conspiracy theories, including ones that attack billionaire philanthropist George Soros.

But his party is also criticized for being soft on corruption, including giving a pass to accused businessmen with ties to the government. Over the years, Slovakia has gradually fallen in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, ranking 57th this year.

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Following the slaying of the 27-year-old Kuciak and his fiancé Martina Kusnirova, Slovakia experienced the largest protests since the end of communism three decades ago, forcing Fico to resign, though he remained as party leader. So severe are the corruption allegations against Slovakia that the EU’s civil liberties committee last month adopted the draft resolution expressing concerns over corruption and organized crime, the impartiality of law enforcement and judicial independence.

“We are happy to say that further enquiries into corruption and connections into organized crime are being conducted,” Dutch MEP Sophia in ‘t Veld said on Monday during a debate in the European Parliament. “Nevertheless, some concern remains regarding the so-called system of revolving doors. We see some people who stepped down actually coming back in other jobs.”

Two days before the first round of the election, Slovak prosecutors formally charged a high-profile businessman with alleged ties to the mafia with the murder of the journalist. They allege that the killing was tied to Kuciak’s work investigating several businessmen, high-level politicians and members of Italy’s ‘Ndrangheta mafia.

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While the role of the president in Slovakia is symbolic in many respects, it has a significant say in foreign policy as part of a regional alliance with Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic called the Visegrad Four. A liberal voice in a region that has gradually drifted toward Russia and China could prove a valuable ally for the West, Meseznikov says.

“Ms. Ĉaputová as pro-EU and NATO will want to persuade Poland and Hungarians to speak with one voice on those issues.”

Šefčovič says he is better suited for the job with 25 years of experience as a diplomat, and has accused his opponent of dodging debate on foreign policy. “Unfortunately, many discussions have been canceled because of the other party’s disinterest,” he wrote on Facebook this week.

Ĉaputová spokesman Martin Burgr did not respond to requests for comment.

[MORE: Europeans Like the EU, Mixed About Brussels]

The election also comes at an important time for Slovakia domestically as the next president will be tasked with critical judicial appointments while nine of the 13 seats of the Constitutional Court remain vacant, says Martin Poliacik, a member of the liberal Progressive Slovakia party, of which Ĉaputová belongs.

“The presidency is more symbolic if the country is running well, but if you are talking about a country like Slovakia that does not have enough judges in the Constitutional Court, which is the case, then it is extremely important,” he says, adding that he hopes the election will spark a conversation that would ring across Europe.

“I think the outcome of these elections will show us how much Slovakia is crying for a change, and not only internally in Slovakia, but in the region a well.”

Philip Heijmans is a journalist based in Prague, Czech Republic. You can follow him on Twitter here.

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Anti-Corruption Activist in Lead for Slovakia Presidency originally appeared on usnews.com </s> This article is more than 5 months old

This article is more than 5 months old

An anti-corruption campaigner with no experience of public office has won the first round of Slovakia’s presidential election, as voters spurned the ruling Smer party a year after the murder of an investigative journalist.

Environmental lawyer Zuzana Čaputová won 40.5% of the vote, with 99.4 of the ballots counted on Sunday, far ahead of the Smer candidate, Maroš Šefčovič, who had 18.7%.

The pair will now contest a second-round run-off on 30 March.

The 45-year-old Čaputová, a pro-European liberal who belongs to the small, non-parliamentary Progressive Slovakia party, would stand out among the populist nationalist politicians on the rise across much of Europe.

Slovak liberals cross fingers for election of pro-west Zuzana Čaputová Read more

Slovakia’s president does not wield day-to-day power but has veto power over the appointments of senior prosecutors and judges, pivotal in the fight against corruption.

“I see a strong call for change in this election following the tragic events last spring and a very strong public reaction,” Čaputová said on Saturday. “We stand at a crossroads between the loss and renewal of public trust, also in terms of Slovakia’s foreign policy orientation.”

The killing in February 2018 of Ján Kuciak, who reported on fraud cases involving politically connected businessmen, triggered the biggest anti-government protests in Slovakia since communism ended three decades earlier. It also led to the resignation of then-prime minister and Smer leader Robert Fico.

Fico’s government remains in power, but Smer’s popularity has slumped. On the first anniversary of Kuciak’s murder, thousands of Slovaks rallied to protest against what they see as a lack of government action on the corruption he uncovered.

The murder of Kuciak and his fiancee is still under investigation. The biggest breakthrough to date came just two days before the vote, when special prosecutors said they had charged businessman Marián Kočner, a subject of Kuciak’s reporting , with ordering the murder. </s> Lawyer and anti-corruption activist Zuzana Caputova was inaugurated Saturday as the first female president of Slovakia

PRAGUE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th June, 2019) Lawyer and anti-corruption activist Zuzana Caputova was inaugurated Saturday as the first female president of Slovakia.

The 45-year-old, the country's youngest leader, was sworn in at the Slovak Philarmonic in Bratislava.

The ceremony was attended by her predecessor, Andrej Kiska.

Caputova won the March runoff against her challenger, European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic, by a 16.8 point margin.

In her inauguration address, Caputova promised to be a president for all and do her best to improve living standards in this Central European country. </s> Lawyer Zuzana Čaputová won the largest share of votes in Slovakia’s presidential ballot Saturday, making her the frontrunner ahead of a second round later this month.

Čaputová, a newcomer to politics who has run a campaign focused on tackling corruption, won 40.6 percent of the vote, ahead of government candidate and European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič on 18.7 percent, according to the national statistics office.

The two will face off in the final round on March 30.

Voters’ support for Čaputová reflects the electorate’s frustration with Slovakia’s ruling Smer party, which has been the target of anti-government protests following the murder a year ago of journalist Ján Kuciak.

Čaputová, 45, has not previously held office. Vice-chairwoman of the recently formed pro-EU Progressive Slovakia party, she ran a campaign under the slogan “Let’s fight evil together,” Bloomberg reported.

Her message appears to have resounded with voters who took to the streets following the murder of Kuciak, who was investigating ties between officials and business at the time of his death.

In 2016 Čaputová won an environmental prize after campaigning in her hometown of Pezinok, near Bratislava, to shut down a hazardous garbage dump. Čaputová, who would be the first woman to hold the position if she wins in two weeks’ time, holds liberal views on both same-sex relationships and adoption.

Šefčovič took unpaid leave from his role at the Commission heading up the bloc’s energy union after announcing his candidacy in January, stating: “Our country needs a good, non-partisan president.”

The president in Slovakia does not wield day-to-day power but holds a veto over the appointments of senior prosecutors and judges, pivotal in the fight against corruption, Reuters reported.

Despite low unemployment and solid economic growth in Slovakia, the popularity of Smer has been plummeting. Smer’s Robert Fico resigned as prime minister last year following Kuciak’s death.

Two days before the vote, police in Slovakia said they charged businessman Marian Kočner with ordering the murder of Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová.

Read this next: French politicians condemn violent street clashes in Paris </s> Lawyer and environmental activist Zuzana Caputova has been inaugurated as Slovakia's first female president. The June 15 ceremony in the capital, Bratislava, came after Caputova's victory in the March 30 presidential runoff. The new president greeted supporters as she walked from the swearing-in ceremony to an ecumenical service at St. Martin's Cathedral. </s> Pro-European liberal lawyer Zuzana Caputova became Slovakia‘s youngest and first female president on Saturday when she formally took office.

“I did not come to rule,” the 45-year-old told a special session of parliament in Bratislava. “I came to serve the citizens.”

Caputova was elected in March as the torch-bearer of a cross-party movement against corruption and abuse of office. She resigned as a member of the liberal Progressive Slovakia party before her inauguration.

Her victory came after months of demonstrations against the February 2018 murder of journalist Jan Kuciak, who was shot dead at his home near Bratislava while working on a story about links between the Slovak government and the Italian Mafia.

Caputova, a single mother of two daughters, has been repeatedly criticized by the church and other conservative groups for her stance on abortion and homosexuals, but said her victory showed that Slovakia is not as conservative as many people believe it is.

Caputova has been praised across party lines for the balance with which she chose the experts who will serve in her team of advisors. Numerous national minorities – including the Roma – and other socially disadvantaged groups will be given a voice in the presidential palace with the appointment of a prominent poverty researcher as presidential advisor. </s> Slovakia's President Zuzana Caputova is seen after her swearing-in ceremony as the country's first female head of state, in Bratislava, Slovakia, June 15, 2019. (photo credit: REUTERS/RADOVAN STOKLASA)

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Bratislava - Anti-corruption campaigner Zuzana Caputova was sworn in as Slovakia's first female president on Saturday, vowing to fight impunity and champion justice in a country shaken by a journalist's murder last year.

The killing of Jan Kuciak, who investigated high-level graft cases, and his fiancé at their home last February sparked mass street protests and hit the approval ratings of the governing leftist party Smer.

Smer is still the most popular party but Caputova's victory in the March presidential vote boosted the opposition liberal alliance Progressive Slovakia/Together, which backed her and aims to unseat the ruling party in a 2020 general election.

The pro-European coalition already won the EU Parliament election last month.

In her inauguration speech, Caputova, 45, said state officials that had proven incapable of stamping out corruption should lose their jobs and vowed to make the justice system work fairly for everyone.

"Under the constitution, people are free and equal in dignity and in rights, meaning nobody is that irrelevant to have their rights compromised, nor is anyone that powerful to stand above the law."

"Too many people feel that this is not quite the reality in our country. The feeling of injustice has grown and has demonstrated itself in calls for change and decency but also in anger over 'the system'," she said in a nod to the rise to anti-system and far-right parties.

Caputova's election stood in contrast to a European shift towards populist and nationalist parties.

Caputova, whose fight against an illegal landfill in her home town earned her the nickname "Slovakia's Erin Brockovich" after the American environmentalist portrayed by Julia Roberts in a 2000 film, also called on the European Union to become a leader in the battle against climate change.

Slovakia's president wields little day-to-day power but appoints prime ministers and can veto appointments of senior prosecutors and judges.

Five people have been charged with the murders of Kuciak and his fiancé Martina Kusnirova, including businessman Marian Kocner, who was investigated by Kuciak and has become a symbol of perceived impunity after more than a decade of rule by Smer. Kocner has denied any wrongdoing.

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For more information and to sign up, click here>> </s> Image copyright Reuters Image caption Zuzana Caputova framed the election as a struggle between good and evil

Anti-corruption candidate Zuzana Caputova has won Slovakia's presidential election, making her the country's first female head of state.

Ms Caputova, who has almost no political experience, defeated high-profile diplomat Maros Sefcovic, nominated by the governing party, in a second round run-off vote on Saturday.

She framed the election as a struggle between good and evil.

The election follows the murder of an investigative journalist last year.

Jan Kuciak was looking into links between politicians and organised crime when he was shot at home alongside his fiancée in February 2018.

Ms Caputova cited Mr Kuciak's murder as one of the reasons she decided to run for president, which is a largely ceremonial role.

She won 58% of the vote, with Mr Sefcovic trailing on 42%.

Her opponent was nominated by the ruling Smer-SD party, which is led by Robert Fico, who was forced to resign as prime minister following the killings.

Ms Caputova gained national prominence as a lawyer when she led a case against an illegal landfill lasting 14 years.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Ms Caputova's campaign posters read: "Stand up against evil, together we can do it"

Aged 45, a divorcee and mother of two, she is a member of the liberal Progressive Slovakia party, which has no seats in parliament.

In a country where same-sex marriage and adoption is not yet legal, her liberal views have seen her promote LGBTQ+ rights.

The opponent she defeated, Mr Sefcovic, is vice president of the European Commission.

Challenges ahead

By Rob Cameron in Bratislava

Saturday night did feel like a moment. Addressing crowds of supporters in her impromptu election HQ at Bratislava's Habsburg-era indoor market, Zuzana Caputova quietly extolled values that now seem to come from a bygone political age: compassion, tolerance, truth.

But while liberals rejoice at what they see as proof the tide of populism in Central Europe can be turned, some urge caution.

One analyst said darkly within hours of her election: "Expect Fico to launch a campaign against her right away, before June's inauguration."

He added that parliament would seek to stymie her liberal agenda even before she took office, for example by passing legislation to make same-sex marriage difficult if not impossible.

But, he said, her appeal to voters remained strong.

"Viktor Orban [the Hungarian PM] attacked her hard from Budapest," he said. "But I'm hearing most ethnic Hungarians [10% of Slovakia's population] voted for her anyway."

Image copyright AFP Image caption Maros Sefcovic has a lot of experience - as a diplomat and a senior EU official

In the first round, Ms Caputova won 40% of the vote, with Mr Sefcovic gaining less than 19%.

Several heads of state - including those of neighbouring Austria and Ukraine - have expressed their support for Ms Caputova on social media.

She will be sworn in on 15 June when Slovakia's current president, Andrej Kiska, finishes his term of office. </s> A liberal lawyer Zuzana Caputova won Slovakia’s presidential election on Saturday, making her the country’s first female head of state.

The government critic and anti-corruption activist Zuzana Caputova won about 58.3% of the vote. Her opponent European Union energy commissioner Maros Sefcovic who took 41.7%. In the first round of votes two weeks ago, Caputova won with 40.5% and Sefcovic trailed behind her with 18.7%.

Vice-chairwoman of the Progressive Slovakia party, Caputova supports gay marriage and adoption. She has also been dubbed “Slovakia’s Erin Brockovich” after winning a case that wanted to build an illegal landfill in her home town.

Sefcovic congratulated 45-year old Caputova on her win.
Slovakia inaugurates Zuzana Čaputová as its first female elected President.