Presidential elections were held in Slovakia in March and April 2009, the country's third direct presidential elections. After no candidate received a majority of the vote in the first round on 21 March, the second round on 4 April saw Ivan Gašparovič become the first Slovak president to be re-elected, defeating opposition candidate Iveta Radičová by 56% to 44%.
Candidates There were seven candidates for the first round, which was held on 21 March: Ivan Gašparovič: incumbent president, supported by governing parties Direction – Social Democracy and Slovak National Party, and extra-parliamentary Movement for Democracy Iveta Radičová: candidate of the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union – Democratic Party, supported by the Party of the Hungarian Coalition, Christian Democratic Movement and Civic Conservative Party František Mikloško: candidate of the Conservative Democrats of Slovakia Zuzana Martináková: candidate of the Free Forum : independent candidate supported by the governing People's Party – Movement for a Democratic Slovakia : independent candidate supported by the Communist Party of Slovakia Dagmara Bollová: independent candidate, former member of the Communist Party of Slovakia
Gašparovič and Radičová advanced to the second round, winning 46.7% and 38.1% of the first round votes, respectively.Zora Bútorová, Jarmila Filadelfiová & Oľga Gyarfášová, "Towards Gender Equality in Slovakia?" in Gendering Post-socialist Transition: Studies of Changing Gender Perspectives (eds. Krasimira Daskalova, Caroline Hornstein Tomić, Karl Kaser & Filip Radunović: LIT Verlag, 2012), p. 269. Slovak women tended to be more supportive of Radičová.
In the second round of elections, held on 4 April, Gašparovič received 1,234,787 votes (55.5%), winning election. Radičová received 44.5% of the vote. After the election, Gašparovič said, "I am glad I can be standing here today with the prime minister and the speaker of the parliament ... The [election] is the most direct evidence that people trust us."
Results
Voter turnout was 44% in the first round and 52% in the second round.Grigorij Mesežnikov, Miroslav Kollár & Michal Vašecka, "Slovakia" in Nations in Transit 2010: Democratization from Central Europe to Eurasia (ed. Lisa Mootz: Freedom House, 2010), pp. 483-84. Voter turnout among women slightly increased in both the first and second rounds of the election, which was attributed to Radičová's candidacy.
By region First round Region Gašparovič Radičová Mikloško Martináková Melník Bollová Sidor Bratislava Region 33.2152.60 6.75 4.74 1.62 0.84 0.56 Trnava Region 37.8049.90 4.73 4.08 1.64 1.28 0.57 Trenčín Region57.23 26.17 4.59 5.98 3.38 1.44 1.21 Nitra Region 43.2945.24 3.70 4.23 1.92 0.91 0.72 Žilina Region56.22 26.10 6.75 5.53 3.15 1.23 1.02 Banská Bystrica Region51.09 35.80 3.18 5.22 2.23 1.23 1.23 Prešov Region52.52 27.15 8.55 5.75 2.75 1.20 2.09 Košice Region42.26 41.97 5.00 5.37 2.92 1.06 1.43 Total in Slovakia46.71 38.05 5.41 5.12 2.45 1.13 1.11 Cities 42.2042.54 5.61 5.35 2.11 1.09 1.06 Villages52.28 32.49 5.16 4.82 2.86 1.19 1.16
Second round Region Ivan Gašparovič Iveta Radičová Bratislava Region 38.8061.20 Trnava Region 42.1757.89 Trenčín Region70.76 29.24 Nitra Region 46.0753.93 Žilina Region70.52 29.48 Banská Bystrica Region59.32 40.68 Prešov Region66.54 33.46 Košice Region50.69 49.31 Total in Slovakia55.53 44.47 Cities50.73 49.27 Villages61.29 38.71
Notes
References
External links NSD: European Election Database - Slovakia publishes regional level election data; allows for comparisons of election results, 1990-2010