Bratislava: Peter Pellegrini, a dubious ally of the Ukrainian government, won Saturday’s presidential election against Slovakian Western diplomat Ivan Korcok.
Backed by the opposition, Korcok conceded defeat after results showed he won 47% of the vote against former prime minister Pellegrini’s 53%.
“Honestly, I’m disappointed. But I’m an athlete, so I can appreciate this result. I want to congratulate the winner,” said Korcok.
“I want to express my confidence that Peter Pellegrini will be independent and act according to his own convictions and without instructions,” he said.
Disagreements on the war in Ukraine dominated the vote, and two candidates vying for the often-celebrated office have a strong opinion on the conflict.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine came as part of the election campaign in the country of 5.4 million people, after Pellegrini’s ally, populist Prime Minister Robert Fico, questioned the sovereignty of Ukraine and called for peace with Russia.
Pellegrini concluded that Slovak politicians are divided between those who want to continue the war or those who support peace talks.
“I belong to the latter,” he told AFP.
