Ivan Gasparovic the Next Slovak President

On Sunday morning, the Central Election Commission has announced the official results of the second round of presidential elections in Slovakia. Ivan Gasparovic, candidate of the opposition Movement for Democracy won over the candidate of the opposition Movement for a Democratic Slovakia Vladimir Meciar. Gasparovic received over 1 million votes, which is almost 60 percent, while Meciar received above 40 percent of all the votes. Ivan Gasparovic, in his first reactions to the outcome of the elections said: I believed I would win, but I would be lying if I said that I knew I would win by so many votes. I thought it would be a much more tie run. Now I'm starting to realize all of it and the fact that now comes the hard work and a totally different life for me.

The newly elected president Ivan Gasparovic was for long a reliable number two man in the party of Vladimir Meciar before they have turned into bitter foes. Gasparovic founded his own party, the Movement for Democracy in the summer of 2002 when Meciar unexpectedly sidelined him before parliamentary elections. His new party failed to get into parliament, and since then, its political activities were virtually invisible. As future president Gasparovic said he would give up the leader position in his party and even quit it. Reacting to the bad climate in the current coalition, Gasparovic does not intend to interfere in the relations between the ruling coalition parties as it is up to them to sort out their problems. He underscored that he didn't intend to act instead of the government nor parliament.

Vladimir Meciar, who suffered a heavy defeat in the Saturday runoff by Ivan Gasparovic thinks that in six moths the new president will end up locked in his presidential palace, lacking any influence. During a discussion at the Public Service Radio Meciar refused to speak to his contestant, whom he accused of publicly calling him a liar. At the end of the "debate", the defeated presidential candidate even refused to shake hands with Gasparovic.

Incumbent President Rudolf Schuster sent a letter congratulating Ivan Gasparovic to victory in the presidential elections. In his letter Schuster writes: "I am glad that I will hand over to you my office at a time of perhaps not ideal but still different political culture and at a time when Slovakia becomes a full member of the European Union and NATO." Speaker of Parliament Pavol Hrusovsky says he is ready to cooperate with the new president after he takes office. He says Gasparovic was given an extraordinary chance to become a nonpartisan president. Hrusovsky believes that the future president will not waste it and during his term, nonpartisan attitude of the head of state will not be just a phrase in this country any longer.

Ruling coalition's Hungarian Coalition Party leader Bela Bugar says that fear of Vladimir Meciar eventually determined the winner in the runoff of the presidential race. The majority considered him bigger evil and thus they voted for Gasparovic. Bugar suggested that now it depends on Gasparovic whether he will become the president of all citizens.

Analysts are surprised over the unambiguous victory of Gasparovic who won by more than 350,000 votes over his contestant Meciar. The outcome shows that also voters of the ruling coalition preferred Gasparovic and thus choose the ?lesser evil.? Political scientist Kusy also says that Gasparovic is far more acceptable for foreign countries than Meciar. He is not so well known abroad, since he was the number-two man in the Movement and he had been only executing Meciar's will. According to Michal Vasecka, analyst of the Institute for Public Affairs, the fact that the voters despite the call of the ruling coalition to ignore the second round of the elections attended it with a turnout of 43 percent, proves a high level of resistance against Vladimir Meciar. Vasecka thinks that Gasparovic has a chance to start his presidential office with a ? tabula rasa?, not burdened by such a bad reputation abroad as Meciar has. In his acceptance abroad, Gasparovic may face problems being linked with some nationalist political parties considered as extremist.

I want to thank everyone who has voted for me. Hopefully I will be able to pay back this support carrying out my work responsibly, said Ivan Gasparovic, winner of the presidential elections, who will take the office in mid June.