Ljubljana, Slovenia: Ms. Natasa Pirc Musar, a liberal rights activist, won a runoff election to become Slovenia’s first female President. The newly elected President has pledged to work to heal the country’s severe left-right divide and lead its 2 million citizens.
According to electoral commission data based on 99 percent of the votes counted, Ms. Pirc Musar won 53.86 percent of the vote in the runoff while her opponent, right-wing politician and former Foreign Minister Mr. Andze Logar, received 46.14 percent.
#Volitve ?️ Hvala! ?? pic.twitter.com/rWendWlQsO
— Nataša Pirc Musar (@nmusar) November 13, 2022
After declaring victory, the liberal rights advocate remarked that “My first task will be to open a dialogue among all Slovenians. In the democratic election, Slovenians have shown what kind of a country they want.”
All my life I’ve advocated the same values: democracy, human rights, tolerance. It’s time to stop dealing with the past. Many things have to be done in the future
Ms. Musar highlighted.
In his statement of defeat, Mr. Logar expressed his hope that Ms. Pirc Musar “will carry out all the promises” she made throughout the campaign.
Since Slovenia gained independence in the wake of Yugoslavia’s dissolution in 1991, Ms. Musar will be the country’s first female President.
In the first round of voting two weeks ago, Slovenia’s President lagged behind Mr. Logar. However, since none of the seven contestants who squared off in the first round were able to secure more than 50 percent of the vote to win outright, Mr. Logar and Ms. Pirc Musar had to participate in a runoff.
In Slovenia, the head of state is still regarded as a person of authority even though the office is mostly ceremonial. President appoints members of the anti-corruption commission and nominates Prime Ministers and Members of the constitutional court, who are then chosen by parliament.
The former foreign minister Mr. Andze Logar worked for the right-leaning Mr. Janez Jansa, a former populist prime minister who was accused of pursuing anti-democratic and divisive policies while in office. During the April parliamentary elections, Mr. Jansa lost his position of authority.