Anti-Graft Campaigner a Step Closer to Slovak Presidency

Slovakia's presidential candidate Zuzana Caputova speaks after casting her vote during the country's presidential elections at a polling station in Pezinok, Slovakia, on March 16, 2019. David W Cerny/Reuters

BRATISLAVA—Zuzana Caputova, an anti-corruption campaigner with no experience in public office, won the first round of Slovakia’s presidential election on March 16, setting up a tough clash with the ruling Smer party’s candidate.

Although voters appeared to spurn Smer a year after the murder of a journalist which sparked mass protests, the party’s Maros Sefcovic, an EU Commissioner, could pick up support among those who prefer stability to the change offered by Caputova.