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Peter Pellegrini addresses his supporters on Sunday night. -
Peter Pellegrini smiles on his way to the election vigil on Sunday evening. -
Ivan Korcok admits defeat in the elections, but at the same time he comes out strongly against his rival.
Brigadier General Ivan Korcuk congratulates his opponent Peter Pellegrini on his victory in the presidential elections in Slovakia. This result strengthens the grip of pro-Russian Robert Fico on the country.
In a televised speech from election headquarters around midnight on Sunday, Korcok conceded defeat and congratulated Pellegrini on his victory.
Pellegrini previously served as Prime Minister and is a close ally of populist Prime Minister Robert Fico. Brigadier General Korcok previously served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador to the United States of America and Germany.
Prime Minister Fico has, among other things, called into question Ukraine's sovereignty and halted arms aid to the country, while Korcok stands up to Ukraine in the war with Russia. In addition to making the country's foreign policy more pro-Russian, Fico implemented reforms to the penal code and the media, which led to concerns about weakening the rule of law.
53 percent
After counting the votes of 99.66 percent of the electoral districts, Pellegrini obtained 53.26 percent, compared to 46.73 percent for Korcuk.
The 48-year-old Pellegrini says victory means the government gets support to achieve its goals, and refers to the outgoing liberal president, Zuzana Caputova, as an opportunist.
“I will be a president who supports the government in its efforts to improve people’s lives,” says Pellegrini.
– I will do everything for Slovakia to be on the side of peace, and not on the side of war.
Tough against the opponent
Pellegrini has portrayed his opponent Korcok as a warmonger because of his support for sending weapons to Ukraine, and suggested that the opponent could push Slovak forces into war with the neighboring country. Korcok rejected this.
Meanwhile, Pellegrini, who is considered more moderate than Fico, has stated that if he wins the election, he is in no hurry to change Slovakia's foreign policy.
– It is not about the future direction of foreign policy. “I guarantee, as another candidate, that we will remain a strong member of the European Union and NATO,” he said earlier on Sunday.
– It is used to spread fear
Korcuk accuses Pellegrini of profiting from spreading fear.
Elections can be won by making the other a candidate for war. I will never forget this. The decisive factor was the high participation rate. I respect that, but the election was decided by fear, by the spread of fear and hatred, as the losing candidate says.
He claimed that stopping aid to Ukraine would not bring peace, but rather victory for Russia.
On Sunday was the final and decisive round of the presidential elections. In the previous round, Korcok received 42.5 percent of the votes, while Pellegrini received 37 percent.
The President of Slovakia has no executive power, but can veto laws or submit them to the Constitutional Court.
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