Zuzana Caputova, a vocal government critic, has won the first round of Slovakia's presidential election.



With results from 99.4 percent of polling stations counted, the 45-year-old was in pole position with 40.5 percent of votes, far ahead of her strongest challenger, Maros Sefcovic.

Sefcovic, a 52-year-old career diplomat and European Commission vice president backed by the ruling Smer-Social Democracy party, had just 18.7 percent of the vote.

Read more: Slovakia's presidential election focuses on corruption, democracy

As no single candidate won a majority on Saturday, a runoff will be held between Caputova and Sefcovic on March 30.

Endorsed by outgoing President Andrej Kiska, who did not seek re-election, Caputova has promised to end what she calls the capture of the state "by people pulling strings from behind," while maintaining the course of Slovakia's foreign policy. If elected, Caputova would be the country's first female president.

It's the first vote held since the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee last February and the ensuing protests, which dealt a blow to the political establishment.

"I see a strong call for change in this election following the tragic events last spring and a very strong public reaction," Caputova told reporters as she cast her ballot in her hometown, Pezinok. "We stand on a crossroads between the loss and renewal of public trust, also in terms of Slovakia's foreign policy orientation."

Read more: Murder of Jan Kuciak: What did Slovakia's government know?

Watch video 05:00 Share Crisis over journalist's murder in Slovakia Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/2uG6V Crisis over journalist's murder in Slovakia

Government critic

Caputova was among tens of thousands of protesters who took to the streets after the killings, which shocked the nation and raised fears about media freedom and political corruption.

Kuciak and his fiancee, Martina Kusnirova, were shot to death in February 2018 just before he was due to publish a story on alleged ties between Slovak politicians and the Italian Mafia.

The double murder threw the country into turmoil, and demonstrations after their deaths were the largest anti-government protests in Slovakia since communist times.

Read more: Slovakia at an economic crossroads

The central European country of 5.4 million people spent decades behind the Iron Curtain before joining the European Union, the eurozone and NATO.

Following the murders, then-Prime Minister Robert Fico was forced to resign. However, he is still the leader of the populist-left Smer-SD party and a close ally of current premier Peter Pellegrini.

Four people were charged with the killings. On Thursday, prosecutors said they had also charged multimillionaire businessman Marian Kocner with ordering the murder of Kuciak, who had been investigating his business activities at the time. It is thought that Kocner has ties to Smer-SD.

Slovakia protest largest since 1989 anti-communism rallies Biggest protests since 1989 Slovakia has witnessed its largest protest since anti-communism rallies in 1989, with an estimated 50,000 gathering in the capital, Bratislava. The reason: the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée. Their murders sent shockwaves across the country and the EU. Kuciak was working on a story linking businessmen operating in the country with the Italian Mafia before his death.

Slovakia protest largest since 1989 anti-communism rallies 'Enough of Fico' The protesters have demanded Prime Minister Robert Fico and the rest of his government resign. According to Kuciak's last unfinished story, one of the businessmen had worked with two people who worked in Fico's office. Although the men have resigned and denied any links, Slovak citizens are frustrated at the government's failure to tackle corruption in the country, chanting "Enough of Fico."

Slovakia protest largest since 1989 anti-communism rallies Growing frustration Kuciak's murder has pushed growing frustration to a fever-pitch, with protesters saying the government can't be trusted to properly investigate the crime. "Politicians in power have lost our trust," said one of the protesters. "We don't trust them to guarantee an independent investigation. They have failed to investigate all previous scandals."

Slovakia protest largest since 1989 anti-communism rallies Crisis of trust Slovak President Andrej Kiska, considered a political rival of the prime minister, said the country is facing a crisis of trust. He has called on the government to reconfigure its three-party coalition or face early elections. But that's not what protesters have demanded. Instead, demonstrators have called for a "new trustworthy government."

Slovakia protest largest since 1989 anti-communism rallies 'Last story' Analysts believe Fico is unlikely to make out of the ensuing political crisis. Martin Slosiarik of the Focus polling agency told Reuters news agency. "Kuciak's last story has had a serious impact on people's trust in the system of government, and the murder of two young people has added a strong moral aspect," said Slosiarik. ls/sms (Reuters, dpa)



law/cmk (AFP, AP, Reuters)

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