PRIME Minister Robert Fico's lead over the opponent of his who is most likely to advance to the second round run-off in the presidential election, businessman and philanthropist Andrej Kiska, is shrinking. A poll carried out over the telephone by the Focus polling agency between March 5 and 9 on 1,009 respondents showed Fico’s support only 9 percent higher than that of Kiska, the Sme.sk website reported on March 11.
Fico would win the first round with 36.1 percent, followed by Kiska with 27.1 percent. Actor and prominent leader of the Velvet Revolution Milan Kňažko would garner 11.1 percent, followed by independent MP Radoslav Procházka with 10 percent, MP for the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) Pavol Hrušovský with 5 percent, member of the Party of Hungarian Community (SMK) Gyula Bárdos with 4.3 percent, MP for the Ordinary People and Independent Personalities Helena Mezenská with 2.6 percent and former KDH leader Ján Čarnogurský with 1.3 percent of the vote.
The poll also showed a high turnout: only 10.1 percent of respondents said they would not attend the elections, while 14.6 percent were undecided. Up to 75.3 percent of respondents said they would vote. Analysts however predict that the actual turnout will be around 50 percent, Sme.sk wrote.
The poll however does not take into account the recent campaign waged against Kiska or the presidential debates, which are to air this week, according to Sme.sk wrote.
The Focus poll is one of the last to be published before the elections. The law stipulates that polls cannot be published within three days before the election day, which means as of March 12.
Source: Sme.sk
Compiled by Radka Minarechová from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
