Slovakia chooses new president

Slovakians, among the newest members of Nato and poised to join the European Union, vote for a new president today, choosing from among a foreign minister, a former prime minister and nine other candidates.

Foreign minister Eduard Kukan, of Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda’s Slovak Democratic and Christian Union, led most opinion polls ahead of the election for the largely ceremonial post.

Former Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar, criticised while in power for what Western leaders said was a lack of commitment to democracy and the rule of law, was second in most polls.

Polls opened at 7am Irish time and will close at 10pm. Some 4.2 million people are eligible to vote.

Since Mr Meciar lost power after 1998 parliamentary elections, his popularity and that of his right-leaning Movement for a Democratic Slovakia have faded.

In 1999, Mr Meciar ran for the presidency in Slovakia’s first direct elections, but lost in a run-off to President Rudolf Schuster, who is running for re-election but without the support of any political party.

If no candidate wins a majority of the vote today, the two top candidates advance to an April 17 run-off.

Slovakia joined Nato earlier this week, and the country becomes an EU member on May 1.