President: I'll Be Pleased If as Many People as Possible Go to Polls

Pezinok, February 29 (TASR) – I’ll be very pleased if as many people as possible take part in the parliamentary election on Saturday and thus affect the future of Slovakia, said President Zuzana Caputova shortly after 11 a.m. in Pezinok (Bratislava region), where she cast her vote, adding that every election is a great opportunity, and the current one is no less important.

“It’s an extremely important step to state one’s opinion on how Slovakia will develop further,” said Caputova, noting that Saturday marks the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the first democratic constitution on Slovak territory, which guaranteed universal suffrage, including women’s right to vote.

According to the president, choosing a political party or people who are running in the election isn’t like selecting a life partner. “I understand that people may not find 100-percent identification with the selected people, but I think that there are people we can choose from in the election,” she said.

The president will spend the election evening with her co-workers; she won’t visit the headquarters of any political party running in the election. “I’ll be constantly evaluating the results of the election with my colleagues and discussing what should be done next. The priority for the upcoming days and weeks will be the formation of a new government,” she said.

Caputova plans to call the election winner, but when the two will meet personally will depend on agreement. “On my part, I’ll be ready to meet as soon as possible,” she said, adding that whether or not she’ll entrust the formation of a government to the election winner will have much to do with its coalition potential.