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| Caputova, a 45-year-old environmental lawyer, won a clear victory Saturday over the ruling party's candidate |
The election of Zuzana Caputova as Slovakia's first female president was hailed Sunday as a vote for change, with the anti-graft activist expected to provide a check on a government tarnished after last year's murder of a journalist.
The
45-year-old environmental lawyer's clear victory Saturday over the ruling
party's candidate was a blow to the populist-left Smer-SD -- the largest
grouping in parliament -- and could spell trouble for them in the EU elections
and next year's general vote.
She is a
relative political newcomer known for taking part in mass anti-government
protests last year after the shootings of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak
and his fiancee. The uproar toppled the then-premier.
Caputova
won 58.4 percent of the vote according to a final tally of results released
Sunday, compared with 41.6 percent for her ruling party rival, EU energy
commissioner Maros Sefcovic.
"A
candidate embodying democratic forces has won, and Sefcovic, who was a symbol
of continuity, has lost," analyst Grigorij Meseznikov told AFP.
Headlines
from the country's newspapers on Sunday suggested the vote was a fresh start
for the central European nation of 5.4 million.
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| Caputova ran on the slogan of "Stand up to evil" but made a point of keeping her rhetoric measured |
"Zuzana
Caputova gives us hope but the real fight will only come now," said Dennik
N, a leading opposition daily.
European
Council President Donald Tusk congratulated Caputova Sunday, tweeting: "A
strong vote, at the heart of Europe, for decency in politics, rule of law and
tolerance."
Caputova
ran on the slogan of "Stand up to evil" but made a point of keeping
her rhetoric measured.
"Let
us look for what connects us. Let us promote cooperation above personal
interests," she said as the results rolled in.
The office
of president is largely ceremonial, but the role does involve ratifying
international treaties, appointing top judges. The president is
commander-in-chief of the armed forces and can veto laws passed by parliament.
Analyst
Aneta Vilagi predicted Caputova would "engage in a purposeful
confrontation with the government... rather than become an opposition president
criticising everything the ruling coalition does."
Yet
"she will represent a stronger system of checks and balances in relation
to the government than Sefcovic would have."
 |
| Headlines from the country's newspapers on Sunday suggested the vote was a fresh start for the central European nation of 5,4 million |
'Justice
for all'
Caputova,
who will be sworn in on June 15, is no stranger to tough battles. She is known
for having successfully blocked a planned landfill in her hometown of Pezinok
after a decade-long grassroots campaign.
She was
also one of the tens of thousands of protesters who took to the streets after
Kuciak's death in February 2018.
The
journalist had been preparing to publish a story on alleged ties between Slovak
politicians and the Italian mafia.
The
killings forced then prime minister Robert Fico to resign but he remains the
Smer-SD's leader and is a close ally of the current premier.
Five people
have been charged, including a millionaire businessman with alleged Smer-SD
ties who is suspected of ordering the murders over Kuciak's investigation into
his activity.
Speaking to
AFP on the campaign trail, Caputova said she would "initiate systematic
changes that would deprive prosecutors and the police of political
influence."
In addition
to fighting for justice for all, Caputova had promised better care for the
elderly and environmental protection.
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| Tens of thousands have taken to the streets in the wake of the shootings of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee in February 2018 |
Fresh
approach
Teacher Iveta
Rabelyova said "Caputova has challenged the typical image of a top
politician: she is a woman, divorced, a political novice."
"It is
a good feeling that our citizens chose someone who breaks all these
stereotypes," the 34-year-old told AFP.
"Women
are under-represented at top-level posts, this might begin to change now,"
added the resident of the southern town of Komarno.
Many
Slovaks who voted for Sefcovic had said the important position necessitated a
man, yet "Caputova won despite her sex" according to analyst Vilagi.
She had
been "a strong opponent to Sefcovic more because of her story, her
personality, values," Vilagi told AFP.
Caputova
also won in conservative, Catholic Slovakia despite being openly pro-choice and
promoting greater rights for same-sex couples.
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| Women leaders in Europe as of March 31, 2019 |
Sefcovic
had tried to use that liberal stance to his advantage by stressing traditional
family values on the campaign trail, appealing to voters "who insist that
Slovakia remain a Christian country."
But
according to official statistics, Caputova not only won over big-city voters
but she also took the lead for the more conservative rural elecorate, if by a
slim margin.
Yet fewer
than 42 percent of eligible voters chose to cast a ballot -- compared to 50
percent at the last presidential run-off -- suggesting that Caputova's idea of
change was not to the liking of everyone fed up with the main political
players.
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