Slovakia goes to the polls for run-off to choose next president

Voters in Slovakia were casting ballots on Saturday to decide a tight race for president.

Opinion polls indicated a neck-and-neck contest between Peter Pellegrini, who is the current parliamentary speaker, and the former foreign minister and diplomat Ivan Korčok.

The incumbent Zuzana Čaputová did not run for a second five-year term despite her continued popularity.

The office of president has a largely representative function in Slovakia, which is a member of both the European Union and NATO.

Pellegrini's Voice - Social Democracy party (Hlas-SD) is part of Slovakia's governing coalition, led by the left-wing nationalist Prime Minister Robert Fico. The right-wing populist Slovak National Party (SNS) is also part of the fractious coalition.

Korčok, a liberal, is backed by the opposition and has pledged to be a counterweight Fico's government.

Korčok surprisingly led in the first round of voting on March 23 with a 5.5 percentage point lead over Pellegrini. The race went to a runoff because no candidate managed to collect an outright majority of the votes cast.

The election has been dominated by the war in neighbouring Ukraine.

Korčok says Slovakia needs to be more resolute in its military support for Kiev, while Pellegrini urges caution when it comes to arms deliveries and cites German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as a political guide.

Slovakia's three-party coalition government is at loggerheads with the liberal and conservative opposition about the war, but also about issues surrounding the rule of law and democracy.

Around 4.4 million Slovakians are eligible to vote.

The polling stations are due to close at 10 pm (2000 GMT), although a delay is expected due to technical problems at one site, the TASR news agency reported on Saturday morning. A result is expected on Sunday morning.

There were nine hopefuls in the first round. A decisive factor in Saturday's contest will be how the supporters of the eliminated candidates vote.