Updated: Slovakia has just elected its first female president a year after a journalist’s murder triggered calls for change. Political novice Zuzana Caputova ran on a slogan of “Stand up to evil.”
The DW reports that the Liberal lawyer Zuzana Caputova won Slovakia’s presidential elections Saturday, after the ruling party-backed candidate Maros Sefcovic conceded defeat.
The FinancialTimes adds that with 86.4 per cent of ballots counted, Ms Caputova — a liberal, pro-European candidate whose campaign tapped into deep public anger at the murder of an investigative journalist and his fiancée last year — had won 57.8 per cent of the vote.
Maros Sefcovic, a veteran diplomat and Slovakia’s current EU commissioner who was backed by Smer, Slovakia’s biggest party, had garnered 42.2 per cent.
“This campaign has shown . . . that values like humanity, solidarity, truth are important for a lot of people in Slovakia. I stand here today because of that,” Ms Caputova told a hall of jubilant supporters in downtown Bratislava who clapped, cheered and chanted “Zuzana, Zuzana, Zuzana”, as results began to filter through.
Victory for the anti-corruption activist breaks a trend of populist, euroskeptic politicians gaining traction across the European Union.
Liberal lawyer Zuzana Caputova led Slovakia’s presidential run-off vote with 57.9% of the votes after 38.5% of polling stations were counted, statistics office data showed on Saturday.
The ruling Smer party’s candidate, European Commissioner Maros Sefcovic, was second with 42.1%.
