Slovakia is set to vote for a new president, with front runner, Zuzana Caputova facing European Union Commissioner Maros Sefcovic.

The two candidates got the most votes in the first round a fortnight ago, but failed to gain the 50% needed to win.

If elected, Ms Caputova, a lawyer and anti-corruption activist with almost no political experience, will be the first female Slovak president.

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 alongside his fiancée in February 2018.

The BBC's Rob Cameron in Bratislava says that although the presidency is mainly a ceremonial role, Ms Caputova is framing the election as a struggle between good and evil.

She cites Mr Kuciak's death as her motivation for getting into politics and has led a campaign focusing on anti-corruption.

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

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 promote LGBTQ+ rights.

Her lack of experience places her in stark contrast with her opponent, Mr Secovic, who is a diplomat and vice president of the European Commission.

He is a member of the ruling Smer-SD party, which is led by Robert Fico, who was forced to resign as prime minister following the Kuciak murder.

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

She is leading by a wide margin in opinion polls.</s>Slovakia is set to vote for a new president, with front runner, Zuzana Caputova facing European Union Commissioner Maros Sefcovic.

The two candidates got the most votes in the first round a fortnight ago, but failed to gain the 50% needed to win.

If elected, Ms Caputova, a lawyer and anti-corruption activist with almost no political experience, will be the first female Slovak president.

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 alongside his fiancée in February 2018.

The BBC's Rob Cameron in Bratislava says that although the presidency is mainly a ceremonial role, Ms Caputova is framing the election as a struggle between good and evil.

She cites Mr Kuciak's death as her motivation for getting into politics and has led a campaign focusing on anti-corruption.

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

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 promote LGBTQ+ rights.

Her lack of experience places her in stark contrast with her opponent, Mr Secovic, who is a diplomat and vice president of the European Commission.

He is a member of the ruling Smer-SD party, which is led by Robert Fico, who was forced to resign as prime minister following the Kuciak murder.

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

She is leading by a wide margin in opinion polls.</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.</s>Lawyer Zuzana Caputova will become Slovakia’s first female president after winning a run-off election Saturday against the country’s ruling party’s candidate.

The vocal government critic whose campaign slogan was “Stand up to evil” was largely unknown before she launched her presidential run in the eurozone member country of 5.4 million people.

Caputova, a pro-EU political novice, won the election with 58.3 percent of the ballot after results from 98.1 percent of voting districts were counted.

Official results are due on Sunday.

“I am happy not just for the result but mainly that it is possible not to succumb to populism, to tell the truth, to raise interest without aggressive vocabulary,” the 45-year-old environmental lawyer told a crowd of supporters.

Maros Sefcovic, who is backed by the ruling Smer party, took 41.7 percent of the vote. Sefcovic, an establishment figure who is the European Commission Vice President, conceded defeat and congratulated his rival.

Caputova won the ballot thanks in part to voter disillusionment with the governing coalition a year after the murder of a journalist investigating high-level corruption plunged the country into crisis.

She was among the tens of thousands of protesters who took to the streets after Jan Kuciak and his fiancee Martina Kusnirova were gunned down at home in February 2018.

Kuciak was about to publish a report on alleged ties between Slovak politicians and the Italian mafia.

The then prime minister Robert Fico was forced to resign but he remains the leader of the ruling party and is a close ally of current premier Peter Pellegrini.

The European Parliament has urged Slovakia to look into “any possible political links to the crimes”.

MEPs voiced “concern about the allegations of corruption, conflicts of interest, impunity and revolving doors in Slovakia’s circles of power”.

Speaking to the AFP news agency on the campaign trail, Caputova said she would “initiate systematic changes that would deprive prosecutors and the police of political influence”.

Caputova, who gave up membership of the non-parliamentary party Progressive Slovakia before the run-off, has vowed to fight for justice for all and has also promised better care for the elderly and environmental protection.

Caputova is in favour of gay rights and opposes a ban on abortion in the conservative Roman Catholic country.

She becomes Slovakia’s fifth president since the country gained independence after the split of Czechoslovakia in 1993.</s>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 from the governing party in a second round run-off vote.

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 alongside his fiancée in February 2018.

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

With almost all votes counted, she has won about 58 percent to Mr Sefcovic's 42 percent.

She gained prominence as a lawyer, when she led a case against an illegal landfill lasting 14 years.

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 promote LGBTQ+ rights.

The opponent she defeated, Mr Sefcovic, is Vice President of the European Commission.

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

In the first voting round, Ms Caputova won 40 percent of the vote, with Mr Sefcovic gaining less than 19 percent.</s>Liberal candidate Zuzana Caputova won Slovakia’s presidential election on Saturday, becoming the central European country’s first ever female president.

Despite having almost no political experience, the 45-year old lawyer and anti-corruption campaigner won 58.4 percent of the vote in the second-round vote, defeating the European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic. The political newcomer soared to popularity in just a few months with a campaign that focused on a struggle for justice.

The president is mostly a ceremonial role in the country of 5.4 million, as Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini is responsible for overseeing the government. But when Caputova takes office in June, she will have important blocking powers, will be the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and will have power to appoint top judges.

Where does Caputova come from?

Caputova was born to a working-class family in the town of Pezinok in what was then western Czechoslovakia. The divorced mother of two daughters rose to prominence and was nicknamed the “Erin Brokovich” of Slovakia after leading a successful case against a toxic landfill that was planned in her hometown in 2016. Her 14-year-long case against the wealthy land developer involved organizing protests, filing lawsuits and writing petitions to the European Union. The campaign earned her a prestigious Goldman Environmental prize in 2016.

She recently became vice-chair of Progressive Slovakia, a party so new that it has not yet run in the parliamentary elections.

How did she win the election?

Caputova built her campaign on a vow to fight corruption, by stripping the police and prosecutors of their political powers. Last year’s murder of the investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee Martina Kusnirova has put the issue of political corruption at the forefront of public discussion. And Caputova said Kuciak’s murder was the reason she decided to run for president.

Kuciak, who had worked to expose corruption among the political elite was shot and killed in February 2018. Three people were charged with the murder, including a millionaire with alleged links to the center-left political party, Smer. Kuciak’s death sparked anti-government protests attracting tens of thousands of people, which eventually forced Prime Minister and Smer leader Rober Smico to step down. The party is still the largest in the national parliament, however, and Pellegrini is its prime minister.

Caputova’s liberal values also appealed to younger voters in a country where same-sex marriage is not yet legal. Caputova is in favour of same-sex unions and has said that LGBT adoption is better than leaving children in orphanages. On the question of abortion, she said she believes it is a woman’s right to make that decision.

What about her appealed to Slovakian voters?

Her approach to politics, judging by the responses of Slovakians TIME spoke to. “She seemed like someone Slovakia needed – kind, honest and never criticized her opponents,” said Antonia Halko, a 28-year-old shop assistant from the town of Bardejov in Slovakia who voted for Caputova.

“I saw her talk in person at an event on January 30th and I knew immediately I was going to vote for her. She was very authentic, humane and I simply trusted what she was saying – which is a pretty rare feature in the Slovak politics,” said Juraj Scott, a charity-worker from Slovakia’s capital city, Bratislava.

Corruption among officials was also a core concern. “We all started to realize that we needed to stand up to the corrupt government because our country wasn’t safe. Caputova promised that nothing like this would ever happen again,” Halko said.

What does her victory mean for European politics?

Caputova’s election is a rare progressive victory in central Europe where nationalist rhetoric has grown over the past few years. In neighboring Hungary, Poland and Austria, governments are dominated by right-wing, nationalist parties. In these countries and elsewhere, liberal parties have struggled to counter populist leaders like Hungary’s Viktor Orban whose campaigns focus on migration and social issues.

But Slovakia’s election provides evidence that dissatisfaction with the status quo can usher in more progressive leaders. “I am happy not just for the result, but mainly that it is possible not to succumb to populism, to tell the truth, to raise interest without aggressive vocabulary,” Caputova told a crowd of supporters in Bratislava.

Caputova’s victory, which came on a low turnout of 40 percent, is likely to be only the beginning of the fight for the progressive left in Slovakia. The European Parliament’s elections in May and the parliamentary elections next year will be the real test of the movement’s strength.</s>BRATISLAVA, Slovakia -- A liberal environmental activist has been elected as the first female president of Slovakia.Relative newcomer Zuzana Caputova had 58 percent of the vote with almost 95 percent of returns counted in Saturday's runoff election, topping European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic, who had 42 percent.Sefcovic conceded defeat and congratulated his rival."I'm extremely happy about the result," Caputova said. "It's an extremely strong mandate for me," she said."Zuzana, Zuzana," her supporters chanted.Caputova, 45, has little experience in politics and attracted voters who are appalled by corruption and mainstream politics.She only recently became vice chairman of Progressive Slovakia, a party so new it has not had a chance to run in parliamentary elections. Caputova resigned from her party post after winning the first round of the presidential vote two weeks ago.She becomes Slovakia's fifth president since the country gained independence after the split of Czechoslovakia in 1993.The president of the nation of 5.4 million people has the power to pick the prime minister, appoint Constitutional Court judges and veto laws. Parliament can override the veto with a simple majority, however. The government, led by the prime minister, possesses most executive powers.A lawyer by profession, Caputova is a rising star of Slovak politics. She became known for leading a successful fight against a toxic waste dump in her hometown of Pezinok, for which she received the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize in 2016.A divorced mother of two, she is in favor of gay rights and opposes a ban on abortion in the conservative Roman Catholic country.She was also part of a campaign in 2017 that led to the annulment of pardons granted by former authoritarian Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar.Sefcovic, 52, is a career diplomat who was supported by the leftist Smer-Social Democracy party led by former populist Prime Minister Robert Fico, a major force in Slovak politics that was tarnished by corruption scandals. He campaigned on a traditional family values ticket.Popular incumbent Andrej Kiska, who did not stand for a second term, backed Caputova in the vote.The two had supported the massive anti-government street protests last year triggered by the slayings of an investigative reporter and his fiancee that that led to the fall of Fico's coalition government. Investigators have linked Jan Kuciak's death to his work probing possible widespread government corruption.Fico's party has already suffered losses in local elections in November - the first votes since the largest demonstrations in the country since the anti-Communist Velvet Revolution of 1989.</s>Slovakia could elect its 1st female head of state

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Voters in Slovakia are selecting a new head of state in a runoff that could give the country its first female president.

Zuzana Caputova, an environmental activist, is up against European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic in the vote for the largely ceremonial post in the nation of 5.4 million.

Caputova won the first round two week ago with 40.6 percent of the vote while Sefcovic was a distant second with 18.7 percent.

Caputova attracts voters appalled by corruption and mainstream politics. Sefcovic is a career diplomat who is supported by the leftist Smer-Social Democracy party, a major force in Slovak politics.

The winner will become the country's fifth head of state since Slovakia gained independence in 1993 after Czechoslovakia split in two.

Incumbent Andrej Kiska did not stand for a second term.</s>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.

[MORE: The 10 Most Corrupt Countries in the World, Ranked By Perception]

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.

[MORE: The 10 Worst Countries for Gender Equality, Ranked by Perception]

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
Anti-corruption candidate Zuzana Čaputová of the Progressive Slovakia party wins the second round of Slovakia's presidential election, defeating the governing party candidate Maroš Šefčovič, 58 percent versus 42%. She will be the country's first female head of state.