Government Critic is a Favorite to Become Slovakia's New President

Liberal candidate Zuzana Caputova, who criticizes the current government's policy, wins the first round in the presidential election in Slovakia with a great lead. This shows the results after the counting of 99.88 per cent of the votes, the France press reported, quoted by BTA.

The eco-activist, who claims that citizens want change, wins 40.55 per cent of the votes.

Maroš Šefčovič, 52-year vice-president of the European Commission, supported by the ruling populist party "Smer - Social Democracy" (SMER-SD), remains second with 18.66%.

Turnout reached 48.73 percent.

The 45-year-old Caputova thanked all Slovak voters by turning to them not only in Slovak, but also in the languages ​​of national minorities.

According to a survey by the FOCUS Sociological Agency, 64.6 per cent of those intending to vote in the second round of elections on March 30 are going to support Caputova. The current president, Andrei Kiska, also urged voters to support Caputova in a post on Facebook.