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Slovakia Votes in 2nd Round of Presidential Poll


A man casts his vote in Slovakia's presidential election run-off, at a polling station in Trencianske Stankovce, Slovakia, March 30, 2019.
A man casts his vote in Slovakia's presidential election run-off, at a polling station in Trencianske Stankovce, Slovakia, March 30, 2019.

Voters in Slovakia are heading to the polls Saturday in round two of the country’s presidential election.

Zuzana Caputova, a 45-year-old environmental lawyer who champions gay rights and opposes Slovakia's ban on abortion, won over 40 percent of the ballots in the first round of the vote two weeks ago.

AFP, the French news agency, reports that recent polls indicate she may gain at least 60 percent of the vote in Saturday's race.

Maros Sefcovic came in a distant second in the first round with 18.7 percent of the vote. The 52-year-old European Commission vice president built his campaign on traditional family-oriented policies. He is backed by the ruling Smer-SD party.

If Caputova wins, she would be the Central European country's first ever female president.

Incumbent President Andrej Kiska is not standing for a second five-year term.

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