REVIEW - Lawyer From Small Town Outruns EU Commission Vice-President In Slovak Presidential Race

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 31st March, 2019) Zuzana Caputova, a 45-year-old lawyer from a small Slovak town just outside Bratislava, was elected on Sunday Slovakia's first ever female president, confidently defeating European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic in the second round of the presidential election by a margin of almost 17 percentage points.

Caputova has secured 58.38 percent of votes, with 99.96 percent of ballots counted, while the runner-up was supported by just 41.62 percent of votes, the Slovak Statistical Office said.

The final results will be announced at 12 p.m. on Sunday (10:00 GMT).

Caputova, who has been elected for a five year term, will take office on June 15 when outgoing President Andrej Kiska's mandate expires.

Last summer, Kiska announced that he would not run for re-election, apparently fearing a new wave of scandals related to his previous business activities, meaning that Slovakia was to choose a new president.

The Slovak president has very limited influence on the country's policy, and his functions are mainly ceremonial in nature since Slovakia is a parliamentary republic.

At the same time, the president is still the supreme commander of the country's armed forces, he represents the republic abroad and appoints the prime minister and members of the Constitutional Court.

The head of state also has the right to veto draft laws adopted by the Slovak parliament, however, the lawmakers can override the veto by a two-third majority of votes.

All Slovak citizen over 18 who are permanently residing in the country were eligible to vote in the presidential election. Slovaks living abroad had to travel to their home country to cast ballots.

The first round of the presidential election was held on March 16 among 13 candidates. Caputova, who had the least political experience compared to her rivals, received 40.

57 percent of votes, while the runner-up, Sefcovic, who was backed by Slovakia's ruling party and considered one of the favorites before the vote, got only 18.66 percent.

Caputova, however, failed to obtain at least 50 percent of the votes, which resulted in her and Sefcovic facing each other in the second round on March 30. This time, a simple majority of votes was enough to claim victory.

SEFCOVIC CONCEDES DEFEAT WITH FLOWERS

After votes from 61 percent of polling places were counted, Sefcovic conceded his defeat and congratulated Caputova on her victory.

"I am sending a bouquet of flowers to Ms Zuzana Caputova and congratulate her on her victory in the election," Sefcovic said.

The Statistical Office said that the vice president of the European Commission had outran Caputova in only one out of eight Slovak regions.�

"Sefcovic won only in the Presov region in the east of the republic with a result of 52.2 percent of the vote, Caputova won in the other regions, including the Bratislava region, where 73.1 percent [of voters] voted for her. [A total of] 41.2 percent of voters voted in the election," the statement read.

Caputova, in turn, said during a briefing that her victory showed the desire of the Slovaks to overcome the existing divisions in the Slovak society.

"I regard my victory in the election as the desire of our fellow citizens to revive our political life, to overcome the current division in society. The fact that I was strongly supported by voters in almost all parts of the republic, I take it as a strong mandate," Caputova said.

During her election campaign, Caputova pledged that she intended to fight for decent living conditions for all citizens, especially for elderly people; to combat corruption; to protect the environment; and to implement the law on registered partnership.