Conservative candidate Anže Logar appeared poised to win the most votes in Slovenia’s presidential election on Sunday, but he will face his center-left rival in a runoff, partial results suggested.
Logar, Slovenia’s former foreign minister, won about 34 percent of the vote in the first round, with about 80 percent of ballots counted, Reuters reported, citing preliminary results from the State Election Commission. His main opponet, lawyer Natasa Pirc Musar, won 27 percent of the vote.
It was widely expected that no candidate would clinch the 50 percent level needed for an outright victory for the mainly ceremonial post. The conservatives saw the vote as a chance to regain some support after their defeat in parliamentary elections in April.
“Results have confirmed that our slogan — ‘we work together for the future’ — has been welcomed by citizens,” Logar said in his first reaction to the partial results, according to media reports.
The second round of the vote is scheduled for November 13.
