LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA -- A right-wing politician and a centrist independent candidate will face each other in a runoff presidential election in Slovenia after no candidate achieved an outright victory in the first round of voting Sunday, partial results showed.
Former Foreign Minister Anze Logar was leading the race with 34 per cent of the vote, followed by lawyer and human rights advocate Natasa Pirc Musar with nearly 27 per cent, state election authorities said after counting most of the ballots.
Trailing third was Social Democrat Milan Brglez, the candidate of the ruling liberal government, who garnered some 15 per cent of the vote, according to the official tally.
Since none of the seven contenders who competed in the election managed to gather more than 50 per cent of the ballots needed for an outright victory, a runoff between Logar and Pirc Musar will be held on Nov. 13.
While Logar took a lead on Sunday, analysts in Slovenia have predicted the tables could turn in the runoff if Slovenia's centrist and liberal voters rally behind Pirc Musar.
Logar, 46, served under former populist Prime Minister Janez Jansa, who moved Slovenia to the right while in power and faced accusations of non-democratic and divisive policies.
A victory for Logar in the second round therefore might get interpreted as a setback for the liberal coalition that ousted Jansa from power six months ago.
During the presidential campaign, Logar has sought to present himself as a unifier. He said 鈥渟ome may have seen this as me distancing myself (from Jansa,) but I was actually being me, Anze Logar, a candidate.鈥�
If Pirc Musar wins, she would become the first female president of Slovenia since the country became independent from the former Yugoslavia in 1991.
Known as an LGBTQ2S+ rights advocate, Pirc Musar said she expected a 鈥渂attle of values鈥� in the runoff.
鈥淚鈥檓 looking forward to the second round," she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 looking forward to the final.鈥�
Logar said he expected the debate to focus on issues important to Slovenia.
Turnout by 1400 GMT was nearly 35 per cent, somewhat higher than for the previous presidential election five years ago, election officials said as polls closed.
Slovenia's 1.7 million eligible voters are choosing a successor to incumbent Borut Pahor. He has served two full five-year terms and was banned from running for a third.
While in office, Pahor tried to bridge Slovenia's left-right divide that remains a source of political tension in the traditionally moderate and stable nation of 2 million.
Prime Minister Robert Golob said the future president should have 鈥渕oral authority鈥� on the country鈥檚 political scene and 鈥済reat trust among Slovenians.鈥�
Ziga Jelenec, a resident of Ljubljana, the capital, said he believed the election will show 鈥渉ow much our society is divided.鈥�
