Slovakia Votes: West or Pro-Russia

Slovakians began voting to choose a new president with the outcome determining whether the EU and NATO member shifts further towards Russia.

Ivan Korcok, a 60-year-old pro-Western ex foreign minister, and Peter Pellegrini, 48, a Ukraine-septic backed by the ruling populists, are vying to replace the outgoing liberal President Zuzana Caputova.

They are squaring off in a decisive second round as neither won the minimum 50 percent in last month's ballot.

Though the office is largely ceremonial, Slovakia's president ratifies international treaties, appoints top judges, is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and can veto laws passed by parliament.

The final pre-election poll by the Focus agency put Korcok and parliament speaker Pellegrini  neck-and-neck, with Pellegrini gaining 51 percent of the vote and Korcok 49 percent.

"This is the tightest ever presidential race," said Vaclav Hrich, managing director of the AKO polling agency.

Stefan Harabin, who placed third after criticizing the European Union and hailing Russian President Vladimir Putin, did not formally back either candidate.

According to AKO, over two thirds of Harabin voters intend to support Pellegrini.

Yet Hrich said the election was "too close to call" and said turnout will be decisive.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine became a fixture of the electoral campaign in the country of 5.4 million after Prime Minister Robert Fico questioned the sovereignty of Ukraine and called for peace with Russia.

Pellegrini was a minister in Fico's previous governments and was head of government from 2018 to 2020 when his long-time ally was toppled.

Fico's government that took office in October includes his Smer party, Pellegrini's Hlas and the small far-right SNS, and has discontinued military aid to Ukraine.