ELECTIONS: Slovak voter wanted to cast ballot for Obama

The first round of Slovakia’s presidential election held on March 21 had its peculiar moments: in the town of Stupava in western Slovakia, one of the voters wanted to cast his ballot for the president of the United States, Barack Obama, and another voter wanted to see the chairman of Slovakia’s Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) political party, Vladimír Mečiar, moving into the presidential palace, the SITA newswire wrote.

The first round of Slovakia’s presidential election held on March 21 had its peculiar moments: in the town of Stupava in western Slovakia, one of the voters wanted to cast his ballot for the president of the United States, Barack Obama, and another voter wanted to see the chairman of Slovakia’s Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) political party, Vladimír Mečiar, moving into the presidential palace, the SITA newswire wrote.

Mečiar is not a candidate for the presidency in the 2009 election; however, in the previous election he was the main opponent of the incumbent President, Ivan Gašparovič.

“One lady at the senior home demanded that she wants to elect Mr. Mečiar as the next president,” Beáta Tomkovičová, member of the Stupava electoral commission told SITA.

In the other case, election officials explained to the Slovak voter that he is participating in the presidential election in Slovakia and that Obama cannot become its head of state.

In the first round of the presidential election in Slovakia on March 21, seven candidates were in the running.

Dagmara Bollová is running as an independent candidate and the incumbent president, Ivan Gašparovič, is supported by two of the parties which make up the ruling coalition – Smer, the largest party in parliament and the Slovak National Party (SNS).

Zuzana Martináková is the candidate of the non-parliamentary liberal party, Free Forum, (SF) and Milan Melník is supported by the third governing coalition party, the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS).

František Mikloško is backed by the Conservative Democrats of Slovakia (KDS) and Iveta Radičová is backed by the three largest parliamentary opposition parties - the Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ), the Christian-Democratic Movement (KDH), and the Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK). The non-parliamentary Communist Party (KSS) is backing Milan Sidor.

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