Eight candidates for the governorship of four of Slovakia’s Higher Territorial Units (VÚCs) who didn't gain the simple majority of votes required in the first round of elections on November 14 are now free to campaign again until Thursday, November 26, when a election moratorium for the second, run-off round of the VÚC elections will start.
The polling stations will open on Saturday, November 28 in Bratislava, Trenčín, Banská Bystrica and Prešov Regions. Governors were elected in the first round, by collecting more than 50 percent of votes cast, in the other four regions in elections held on November 14.
A second, head-to-head election round will take place in Bratislava Region between SDKÚ MP Pavol Frešo, who is backed by the SDKÚ, KDH, SMK, OKS, and SaS parties, and incumbent governor Vladimír Bajan, an independent with the backing of Smer, the HZDS, the Green Party of Slovakia and the HZD. In the first round, Frešo won 41.29 percent and Bajan 29.5 percent.
In Prešov Region the run-off will be between Peter Chudík, supported by Smer, the HZDS, the HZD and the Green Party of Slovakia, who won 47.17 percent in the first round, and former KDH MEP Ján Hudacký, backed by the KDH, SDKÚ and SaS, who won 24.66 percent.
In Trenčín Region the contest will be between Pavol Sedláček (HZDS, Smer and SNS) who won 45.55 percent, and former defence minister Martin Fedor (SDKÚ, KDH, SaS and OKS) who won 29.72 percent
In Banská Bystrica Region the election will pit Smer MEP Vladimir Maňka (Smer and HZDS), who got 35.41 percent in the first round, against Jozef Mikuš (SDKÚ, KDH, OKS and KDS) who won 28.81 percent.
In the first round on November 14, heads of the VÚCs were elected in Trnava, Nitra, Žilina and Košice Regions. The overall turnout across the country was 22.9 percent, around 5 percent higher than in the first round in 2005. The highest turnout was in Banská Bystrica Region, at 27.06 percent, followed by Prešov Region, with 26.31 percent, then Žilina Region, at 23.68 percent; Košice Region, at 22.93 percent; Nitra Region, at 21.81 percent; Trenčín Region, at 20.59 percent; and Trnava Region at 20.46 percent. The lowest turnout was registered in Bratislava Region, with only 19.46 percent.
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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