| |||||||||||||||||
Turnout | 48.74% (first round) 5.35pp 41.80% (second round) 8.67pp | ||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||
|
Presidential elections were held in Slovakia in March 2019. Incumbent President Andrej Kiska did not run for a second term.
Fifteen candidates contested the first round on 16 March, of which two later formally withdrew their bids before voting took place, but their names still had to remain on the ballot papers. Zuzana Čaputová of the Progressive Slovakia party finished ahead of the other candidates, receiving 40.6% of the votes, but failed to achieve the necessary threshold of 50%+1 vote from all registered voters to avoid a run-off. Maroš Šefčovič, the vice president of the European Commission for the Energy Union, who was running as an independent supported by the Direction – Social Democracy (SMER–SD) party, came in as the runner-up with 18.7% of the vote and earned a place in the run-off as well.
In the second round on 30 March, Čaputová was elected with 58.4% of the vote to Šefčovič's 41.6%. She became the first woman to be elected to the presidency and became Slovakia's youngest-ever president upon her inauguration which took place on 15 June 2019.
Andrej Kiska was elected president in March 2014. He won the run-off with a large majority against then-prime minister Robert Fico.
Polls indicated that he was Slovakia's most trusted politician and that he would have likely been the frontrunner in the election, had he chosen to present himself as a candidate. [1] He had originally planned to announce whether he would run for a second term in September 2018. [2] but moved it on 15 May 2018. [3] Freedom and Solidarity had announced it would support Kiska's candidacy. [4] However, Kiska announced on 15 May 2018 that he would not run for re-election, arguing that this move might end "the era of political confrontation" his country faced and citing a desire to spend more time with his family. [5] Kiska is notably pro-European. [1]
Kiska's decision had been rumoured since February 2018 and political parties had already started to look for candidates. [6] [7]
The president of the Slovak Republic has been elected for a five-year term, and by popular vote since the elections in 1999. [14] [15] Its role is limited, but not just ceremonial. The president has the power to nominate the prime minister, to veto bills (unless confirmed by a two-thirds majority), and to nominate judges on the highest tiers of the judicial branch. [16]
The president is elected through a two-round method; if no candidate reaches 50%+1 votes in the first round, the top two candidates of the first round take part in a second round. [17]
For a candidacy to be valid, the Constitution of Slovakia requires the collection of 15,000 signatures of Slovak citizens, or the support of 15 of the 150 MPs in the legislature. The candidate must be an eligible voter over 40 years old, must resign from any other conflicting public office, and is limited to two terms in office. [18]
Candidates who claimed 15,000 citizen signatures or have 15 MP signatures by midnight of 31 January 2019 were as follows:
Name | Party [19] | Age [20] [21] | Date of candidacy announcement | Date of candidacy confirmation | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Béla Bugár | Most–Híd | 60 | 9 June 2018 [22] | 6 September 2018 [23] | |
Zuzana Čaputová | PS | 45 | 29 May 2018 [24] | 24 January 2019 [25] | |
Martin Daňo | Independent | 42 | 16 February 2018 [26] | 24 January 2019 [27] | |
Štefan Harabin | Independent [28] | 61 | 18 April 2018 [29] | 15 November 2018 [30] | |
Eduard Chmelár | Independent | 47 | 23 April 2018 [31] | 28 January 2019 [32] | |
Marian Kotleba | Kotleba-ĽSNS | 41 | 31 May 2018 [33] | 30 January 2019 [34] | |
Milan Krajniak | We Are Family | 46 | 31 May 2018 [35] | 11 August 2018 [36] | |
František Mikloško | Independent [37] [38] | 71 | 6 June 2018 [39] | 25 January 2019 [40] | |
Maroš Šefčovič | Independent | 52 | 18 January 2019 [41] | 31 January 2019 [42] | |
Róbert Švec | Independent | 42 | 27 May 2018 [43] | 25 November 2018 [44] | |
Bohumila Tauchmannová | Independent | 60 | 1 March 2018 [45] | 19 September 2018 [46] | |
Juraj Zábojník | Independent | 56 | 19 February 2018 [47] | 13 August 2018 [48] | |
Ivan Zuzula | SKS | 64 | 31 January 2019 [49] | 31 January 2019 [49] |
During the campaign, Šefčovič (a Roman Catholic) [60] spoke against any changes in LGBT rights status in Slovakia, strongly opposing both civil partnerships or same-sex adoptions. He criticised his opponent Čaputová (who is in favour of both) as a candidate who is forcing a "new ultraliberal agenda" on Slovakia, comparing the second round of elections to a referendum on such an agenda, which he considers to be "in exact contradiction to traditional Christian values". [61] [62] He also stated that "we can not support any further steps towards civil unions or same-sex adoptions because these would go precisely against our traditional Christian values", calling this stance as his "very natural position" due to his Christianity. [63] [64] According to his opinion, discussions about "such experiments bring great unrest to society". [65]
Šefčovič has also criticised his opponent Čaputová for her opinions on the European migrant crisis and related policies. He asserted the importance of a speedy deportation policy, so that "people who do not have any business here are sent to their home countries as quickly as possible". [66] Furthermore, he argued out that "it has to be Slovaks who decide who comes to our country". [65]
Štefan Harabin ran on a platform of "traditional Slovak culture based on Christianity and family, formed by a man–father and woman–mother" and rejecting "gender ideology". [67]
During the campaign Harabin accused Muslim migrants of "killing and raping European women in Germany and France" and claimed his opponents wanted to destroy Slovak culture. He also condemned NATO, European Union institutions as well as homosexuals. [68] According to Globsec, Harabin was the most favoured candidate by "pro-Kremlin disinformation channels" on Facebook, receiving 174 positive and no negative posts. [69]
Date | Agency | Iveta Radičová | Andrej Danko | Veronika Remišová | Igor Matovič | Béla Bugár | Marian Kotleba | Štefan Harabin | Milan Krajniak | Maroš Šefčovič | Peter Pellegrini | Eduard Chmelár | Robert Mistrík | František Mikloško | Zuzana Čaputová | Martin Daňo | Marian Čaučík | Other/ Abstain |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
16 Mar 2019 | First round election | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 3.1% | 10.4% | 14.3% | 2.8% | 18.6% | N/A | 2.7% | N/A | 5.7% | 40.6% | 0.5% | N/A | |
26 Feb - 1 March 2019 | Phoenix Research [70] | — | — | — | — | 9.1% | 7.8% | 15.2% | 7.1% | 19.8% | — | 5.1% | — | 6.7% | 18.5% | 2.5% | — | 8.2% |
27–28 Feb 2019 | AKO [71] | — | — | — | — | 4.1% | 5.6% | 11.4% | 2.4% | 16.7% | — | 1.5% | — | 3.1% | 52.9% | — | — | — |
26-28 Feb 2019 | Focus [72] | — | — | — | — | 3.2% | 8.2% | 12.0% | 2.4% | 22.1% | — | 2.5% | — | 3.5% | 44.8% | 0.9% | — | — |
27 February 2019 | Restartup [73] | — | — | — | — | 7.6% | 9.1% | 9.8% | 5.2% | 13.5% | — | 3.2% | — | 5.2% | 37.9% | 2.7% | — | — |
22-25 Feb 2019 | AKO [74] | — | — | — | — | 5.9% | 4.5% | 11.7% | 6.1% | 17.1% | — | 2.2% | 16.8% | 3.9% | 27.5% | 2.6% | — | — |
21-26 Feb 2019 | FOCUS [75] | — | — | — | — | 5.8% | 8.5% | 13.0% | 4.3% | 20.4% | — | 2.0% | 13.1% | 4.3% | 26.3% | 0.7% | — | — |
11-23 Feb 2019 | Median [76] | — | — | — | — | 6.5% | 7.5% | 10.5% | 5.5% | 20.5% | — | 3.0% | 15.0% | 5.0% | 23.5% | 1.0% | — | — |
13–19 Feb 2019 | MVK [77] | — | — | — | — | 7.6% | 7.0% | 8.7% | 3.5% | 32.8% | — | 2.2% | — | 8.9% | 27.6% | 0.5% | — | 1.1% |
13–19 Feb 2019 | MVK [78] | — | — | — | — | 6.3% | 6.5% | 8.3% | 3.1% | 30.3% | — | 1.7% | 14.2% | 7.3% | 19.4% | 0.3% | — | 2.5% |
12–15 Feb 2019 | AKO [79] | — | — | — | — | 6.5% | 8.2% | 12.1% | 5.6% | 19.7% | — | 3.5% | 18.2% | 2.9% | 17.4% | 2.3% | — | 1.5% |
7–12 Feb 2019 | Focus [80] | — | — | — | — | 7.4% | 8.9% | 13.6% | 6.3% | 20.1% | — | 3.5% | 17.1% | 4.5% | 14.4% | 1.0% | — | 3.1% |
8–12 Feb 2019 | AKO [81] | — | — | — | — | 7.4% | 6.9% | 12.8% | 7.8% | 18.2% | — | 5.0% | 15.8% | 5.5% | 14.7% | 1.7% | — | 3.2% |
28 January 2019 | Restartup [82] | — | — | — | — | 7.8% | 9.5% | 12.6% | 6.1% | 12.5% | — | 3.6% | 16.3% | 6.5% | 10.2% | 3.5% | — | — |
16–23 Jan 2019 | Focus [83] | — | 7.8% | — | — | 10.1% | 8.2% | 11.7% | 7.0% | 16.5% | — | 2.3% | 16.5% | 6.7% | 9.0% | 0.1% | — | 4.1% |
10–15 Jan 2019 | AKO [84] | — | 7.5% | — | — | 11.0% | 7.3% | 13.0% | 10.1% | 19.4% | — | 4.3% | — | — | 18.5% | 1.2% | — | — |
Aug–Sep 2018 | AKO [85] | — | 9.7% | — | 4.6% | 8.6% | 4.7% | 8.8% | 4.4% | — | 11.9% | 10.8% | 12.1% | 7.1% | 6.9% | 2.7% | 1.9% | 5.8% |
24–30 Apr 2018 | Focus [86] | 13.9% | 12.1% | 7.8% | — | 5.3% | 5.0% | 4.6% | — | 2.8% | — | 1.4% | 1.0% | — | — | — | 0.5% | 45.9% |
Date | Agency | Maroš Šefčovič | Zuzana Čaputová |
---|---|---|---|
30 Mar 2019 | Second round election | 41.59% | 58.41% |
28–29 March 2019 | Focus [87] | 44.8% | 55.2% |
17–19 March 2019 | Median [88] | 39.5% | 60.5% |
16 March 2019 | Focus [89] | 35.6% | 64.4% |
26–28 February 2019 | Focus [90] | 36.0% | 64.0% |
27 February 2019 | Restartup [73] | 35.5% | 64.5% |
12–15 February 2019 | AKO [79] | 45.1% | 54.9% |
7–12 February 2019 | Focus [91] | 51.9% | 48.1% |
16–23 January 2019 | Focus [92] | 58.0% | 42.0% |
Čaputová vs Harabin
Date | Agency | Zuzana Čaputová | Štefan Harabin |
---|---|---|---|
26–28 February 2019 | Focus [90] | 72.4% | 27.6% |
27 February 2019 | Restartup [73] | 71.1% | 28.9% |
Šefčovič vs Harabin
Date | Agency | Maroš Šefčovič | Štefan Harabin |
---|---|---|---|
27 February 2019 | Restartup [73] | 61.6% | 38.4% |
16–23 January 2019 | Focus [92] | 65.4% | 34.6% |
Šefcovič vs Mistrík
Date | Agency | Maroš Šefčovič | Robert Mistrík |
---|---|---|---|
12–15 February 2019 | AKO [79] | 44.7% | 55.3% |
7–12 February 2019 | Focus [91] | 49.2% | 50.8% |
16–23 January 2019 | Focus [92] | 50.1% | 49.9% |
Mistrík vs Harabin
Date | Agency | Robert Mistrík | Štefan Harabin |
---|---|---|---|
16–23 January 2019 | Focus [92] | 63.8% | 36.2% |
This lists polls that asked people if they want Andrej Kiska as president for Second term.
Date | Agency | For | Against |
---|---|---|---|
24–30 April 2018 | Focus [93] | 42.7 | 42.6 |
Zuzana Čaputová of the Progressive Slovakia party finished far ahead of the other candidates, receiving 41% of the vote, but failed to achieve the necessary threshold of 50%+1 vote from all registered voters to avoid a run-off. Maroš Šefčovič, the vice president of the European Commission for the Energy Union, who was running as an independent supported by the governing Smer-SD, [94] was the runner-up with 19% of the vote and earned the other place in the run-off. Voter turnout in the first round was 49%, the highest first round turnout since direct voting for the presidency was introduced in 1999. [95]
In the second round, Čaputová won election to the presidency, receiving 58% of the vote to Šefčovič's 42%. She became the first woman to be elected to the position and became Slovakia's youngest-ever president upon her inauguration on 15 June 2019. [96] The second round turnout of just 42% was the lowest for any round of a presidential election in Slovakia. [97] The number of votes with which Čaputová was elected to office is also the lowest for any directly elected Slovak president to date. [97]
Candidate | Party | First round | Second round | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | Votes | % | |||
Zuzana Čaputová | Progressive Slovakia | 870,415 | 40.57 | 1,056,582 | 58.41 | |
Maroš Šefčovič | Independent (Smer) | 400,379 | 18.66 | 752,403 | 41.59 | |
Štefan Harabin | Independent | 307,823 | 14.35 | |||
Marian Kotleba | Kotleba – People's Party Our Slovakia | 222,935 | 10.39 | |||
František Mikloško | Independent | 122,916 | 5.73 | |||
Béla Bugár | Most–Híd | 66,667 | 3.11 | |||
Milan Krajniak | We Are Family | 59,464 | 2.77 | |||
Eduard Chmelár | Independent | 58,965 | 2.75 | |||
Martin Daňo | Independent | 11,146 | 0.52 | |||
Róbert Švec | Independent | 6,567 | 0.31 | |||
Juraj Zábojník | Independent | 6,219 | 0.29 | |||
Ivan Zuzula | Slovak Conservative Party | 3,807 | 0.18 | |||
Bohumila Tauchmannová | Independent | 3,535 | 0.16 | |||
Robert Mistrík [b] | Independent | 3,318 | 0.15 | |||
József Menyhárt [b] | Party of the Hungarian Community | 1,208 | 0.06 | |||
Total | 2,145,364 | 100.00 | 1,808,985 | 100.00 | ||
Valid votes | 2,145,364 | 99.37 | 1,808,985 | 97.92 | ||
Invalid/blank votes | 13,495 | 0.63 | 38,432 | 2.08 | ||
Total votes | 2,158,859 | 100.00 | 1,847,417 | 100.00 | ||
Registered voters/turnout | 4,429,033 | 48.74 | 4,419,883 | 41.80 | ||
Source: Statistics.sk (first round), (second round) |
Maroš Šefčovič is a Slovak diplomat and politician serving as Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for the European Green Deal since 2023, as well as Vice-President of the European Commission for Interinstitutional Relations since 2019, previously holding the office from 2010 to 2014. He has been a member of the European Commission since 2009. Šefčovič also stood for office in the 2019 Slovak presidential election, which he lost against Zuzana Čaputová.
Andrej Kiska is a Slovak politician, entrepreneur, writer and philanthropist who served as the fourth president of Slovakia from 2014 to 2019. He ran as an independent candidate in the 2014 presidential election in which he was elected to the presidency in the second round of voting over Prime Minister Robert Fico. Kiska declined to run for a second term in 2019. He has written two books about happiness, success, and his life.
Peter Pellegrini is a Slovak politician who is serving as the sixth president of Slovakia since 2024. He previously served as prime minister of Slovakia from 2018 to 2020.
In the run up to the 2020 Slovak parliamentary election, various organisations carry out opinion polling to gauge voting intention in Slovakia. Results of such polls are displayed in this article.
Elections were held in Slovakia's 8 self-governing regions on 4 November 2017.
Progressive Slovakia is a liberal and social-liberal political party in Slovakia established in 2017. The party is led by Michal Šimečka, a former Vice President of the European Parliament. It is a member of the Renew Europe group and is a full member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party. PS currently has 6 MEPs: Ľudovít Ódor, Veronika Cifrová Ostrihoňová, Martin Hojsík, Michal Wiezik, Ľubica Karvašová, and Lucia Yar.
Jana Žitňanská is a Slovak journalist and politician. She has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2014 as well as the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR). Žitňanská worked as a member of the Broadcasting and Retransmission Council between 2001 and 2007.
Robert Mistrík is a Slovak chemist, scientist, businessman, and politician.
Zuzana Čaputová is a Slovak politician, lawyer and environmental activist who served as the fifth president of Slovakia from 2019 to 2024. Čaputová was the first woman to hold the presidency, as well as the youngest president in the history of Slovakia, elected at the age of 45.
In the run up to the 2023 Slovak parliamentary election, various organisations carried out opinion polling to gauge voting intention in Slovakia. Results of such polls are displayed in this article. The date range for these opinion polls are from the previous parliamentary election, held on 29 February 2020, to September 30th, 2023.
Miriam Lexmann is a Slovak politician who has been a Member of the European Parliament since February 2020 and member of the Christian Democratic Movement.
The 2018 Slovak local elections were held on Saturday, 10 November 2018, to elect deputies to municipality councils, city councils and mayors, including mayors of boroughs and members of their councils in Bratislava and Košice.
Ivan Korčok is a Slovak politician and retired diplomat who was Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovakia from 2020 to 2022 as an independent nominee of the Freedom and Solidarity political party.
Milan Krajniak is a Slovak politician. He served as Minister of Labour, Social Affairs and Family from 21 March 2020 to 15 April 2023.
Presidential elections were held in Slovakia in March and April 2024. Incumbent president Zuzana Čaputová announced in June 2023 that she would not run for a second term.
On 12 October 2022, two people were killed, and a third person was wounded in a shooting outside of the front entrance of Tepláreň, a gay bar in Bratislava, Slovakia, a well-known spot frequented by the local LGBTQ community. The shooting claimed two victims: Juraj Vankulič, a non-binary person, and Matúš Horváth, a bisexual man. The perpetrator was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot the morning after the attack.
This page lists nationwide public opinion polls that have been conducted relating to the 2024 Slovak presidential election. Poll results are listed in the tables below in reverse chronological order, showing the most recent first. The highest percentage figure in each polling survey is displayed in bold, and the background shaded in the leading candidate's colour. In the instance that there is a tie, then no figure is shaded. Poll results use the date the survey's fieldwork was done, as opposed to the date of publication; however, if such date is unknown, the date of publication will be given instead.
Juraj Rizman is a Slovak communication consultant and TV presenter. He is known to the public as the partner of the Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová.
This is a list of notable individuals and organizations who voiced their endorsement for the office of the Slovak president, including those who subsequently retracted or withheld their endorsement of any candidate during the 2024 Slovak presidential election.