Slovaks voted Saturday in the first round of a presidential election that Prime Minister Robert Fico is poised to win, amid concerns that his leftist Social Democrats could monopolise power in the eurozone country.
Victory for the former communist frontrunner in a pack of 14 candidates would give control of the presidency, parliament and government to the same party for the first time since Slovakia’s independence in 1993.
Fico, 49, has earned valuable political capital during his six years as premier with an anti-austerity agenda tempered by fiscal discipline.
He scored around 35 percent support in voter surveys and is most likely to face millionaire-turned-philanthropist Andrej Kiska in a run-off vote set for March 29.
The non-partisan Kiska, 51, with no communist past, came into the vote with 24 percent support and is seen as an untainted political greenhorn with a good nose for business.
Also in the running are actor Milan Knazko, a leading figure of the 1989 Velvet Revolution that peacefully dismantled communism in the then Czechoslovakia; Radoslav Prochazka, an ambitious young constitutional lawyer; and former parliament speaker Pavol Hrusovsky, a Christian Democrat.
The prospect of Fico consolidating his power has galvanised both the political class and voters in the country of 5.4 million, which joined the European Union in 2004 and the eurozone in 2009.
The election has become “a referendum on Robert Fico’s government and the concentration of power”, Grigorij Meseznikov from the Bratislava-based Institute for Public Affairs told AFP.
Marian Lesko, an analyst with the Trend business weekly, warned that Fico could try to amend the constitution to boost presidential powers and transform the parliamentary system into a presidential one.
A Fico win would trigger a reshuffle in the Social Democrat government, but the party would still control a comfortable 83-seat majority in the 150-member parliament until general elections in 2016.
And the party would select Fico’s successor as prime minister, who would win ready approval in parliament.
In addition, Lesko said: “Any of Fico’s successors, who are effectively his subordinates at the moment, would still view him as their boss after taking up the premier’s job.”
– Token protest vote –
Voters were divided at polling stations in the capital Bratislava on Saturday.
Pensioner Karol Janostiak, 75, backed Fico, pointing to his political experience and his penchant for generous social welfare spending,
“I expect him to improve health care and education and help push for higher pensions,” he told AFP.
But long-time Fico supporter Hubert Bystricky, an unemployed 57-year-old, said he voted against him over concerns about a power grab.
“He’s a good politician but I don’t want him to have all the power in the country,” he told AFP, adding that he chose the “weakest candidate as a gesture of protest”.
Kiska’s supporters meanwhile believe that with his track record of making a fortune only to give it away, he is immune to the kind of corruption allegations that have tainted Slovakia’s right-wing politicians.
“He’s revealed everything about his past, he’s independent, not backed by any party and he’s a good manager,” pensioner Bozena Kleckova told AFP.
“If people come out to vote, I’ve got a big chance to advance to the second round and Slovakia has a chance to have an independent and non-partisan president,” Kiska said as he cast his ballot in his hometown of Poprad, in northern Slovakia.
Should he make it to the run-off, the centrist Kiska would become the first Slovak president without a communist party past since independence.
Both frontrunners label themselves as euro-enthusiasts, so any outcome will likely seal Slovakia’s pro-EU foreign policy.
The new president will be sworn in on June 15, when leftist President Ivan Gasparovic’s second term ends.
Polling stations opened at 7:00 am (0600 GMT) for the country’s 4.4 million voters and close at 10:00 pm.