In the first round of the presidential election in Slovakia on March 21, seven candidates are running. Dagmara Bollová is running as an independent candidate and incumbent president Ivan Gašparovič is being supported by two of the parties which make up the ruling coalition - Smer (the largest) 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 endorsed 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.
The candidates were allowed to actively canvass voters for their support for a two-week period prior to a pre-election moratorium which began at 07:00 on Thursday, March 19 and is to last until 22:00 on Saturday, March 21 when the polling stations close.
If none of the candidates receive more than half of the votes of all the eligible voters, the second election round will be held on April 4 where only the two top candidates will compete. The one who will collects the most votes in the second round will become the country’s next president.
The election term of the current president ends on June 15.
