30 Mar 2019; DW: Liberal lawyer Zuzana Caputova won Slovakia's second-round presidential run-off Saturday, after the ruling party-backed candidate Maros Sefcovic conceded defeat.
Victory for the anti-corruption activist breaks a trend of populist, euroskeptic politicians gaining traction across the European Union.
Election results
- With 91 percent of the latest vote counted, Caputova was winning 58-42.
- Sefcovic conceded defeat shortly before midnight.
- Caputova will now become Slovakia's fifth president since its independence in the 1993 split of Czechoslovakia.
Caputova thanks minority groups
Caputova thanked voters in Slovak, Hungarian, Czech, Roma and Ruthenian: "I am happy not just for the result but mainly that it is possible not to succumb to populism, to tell the truth, to raise interest without aggressive vocabulary."
"This started in the local election last year, was confirmed in the presidential election, and I believe the European (parliamentary election in May) will confirm it as well."
Sefcovic told reporters he called Caputova to congratulate her on the win and said he would send her flowers: "The first female president of Slovakia deserves a bouquet."
Who is Caputova?
She is a 45-year-old environmentalist and anti-corruption activist who supports gay rights and opposes a ban on abortion. She has no political experience and ran as the candidate for the Progresivne Slovensko party on a slogan of "Stand up to evil."
She gained prominence marching alongside 5.4 million people in anti-government protesters after investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee were gunned down in February 2018. She has vowed to stamp out corruption and influence peddling among prosecutors and police.
Who is Sefcovic? Sefcovic is a career diplomat who is pro-EU and serves as a vice-president in the European Commission, the European Union's executive body. He is supported by the ruling, leftist Smer-Social Democracy party, a major force in Slovak politics.
Ceremonial post: The presidency is less powerful than the prime minister's office, but the president is responsible for ratifying international treaties, appointing top judges, is commander-in-chief of the armed forces and can veto laws passed by parliament.
