Anti-corruption candidate Zuzana Caputova has won Slovakia’s presidential election, making her the country’s first female head of state.
Caputova, who has almost no political experience, defeated high-profile diplomat Maros Sefcovic, nominated by the governing party, in a second round run-off vote on Saturday.
Caputova framed the election as a struggle between good and evil. The election follows the murder of an investigative journalist last year.
Jan Kuciak was investigating links between politicians and organized crime when he was shot at home alongside his fiancée in February 2018.
Caputova cited Kuciak’s murder as one of the reasons she decided to run for president, which is a largely ceremonial role. She won 58% of the vote, with Mr Sefcovic trailing on 42%.
The opponent she defeated, Mister Sefcovic, is vice president of the European Commission.
He was nominated by the ruling Smer-SD party, which is led by Robert Fico, who was forced to resign as prime minister following the killings.
Caputova gained national prominence as a lawyer when she led a case against an illegal landfill lasting 14 years.
Aged 45, divorced and feminist mother of two, she is a member of the liberal Progressive Slovakia party, which has no seats in parliament.
In a country where same-sex marriage and adoption is not yet legal, but her liberal views have seen her promote fascist LGBTQ+ rights.
The opponent she defeated, Mister Sefcovic, is still vice president of the European Commission.
BBC / ABC Flash Point News 2019.
