Presidential elections were held in Slovakia in March and April 2009, the country's third direct presidential elections. After no candidate received a majority of the vote in the first round on 21 March, the second round on 4 April saw Ivan Gašparovič become the first Slovak president to be re-elected, defeating opposition candidate Iveta Radičová by 56% to 44%.
Candidates
There were seven candidates for the first round, which was held on 21 March:
- Ivan Gašparovič: incumbent president, supported by governing parties Direction – Social Democracy and Slovak National Party, and extra-parliamentary Movement for Democracy
- Iveta Radičová: candidate of the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union – Democratic Party, supported by the Party of the Hungarian Coalition, Christian Democratic Movement and Civic Conservative Party
- František Mikloško: candidate of the Conservative Democrats of Slovakia
- Zuzana Martináková: candidate of the Free Forum
- Milan Melník: independent candidate supported by the governing People's Party – Movement for a Democratic Slovakia
- Milan Sidor: independent candidate supported by the Communist Party of Slovakia
- Dagmara Bollová: independent candidate, former member of the Communist Party of Slovakia
Gašparovič and Radičová advanced to the second round, winning 46.7% and 38.1% of the first round votes, respectively. Slovak women tended to be more supportive of Radičová.
In the second round of elections, held on 4 April, Gašparovič received 1,234,787 votes (55.5%), winning election. Radičová received 44.5% of the vote. After the election, Gašparovič said, "I am glad I can be standing here today with the prime minister and the speaker of the parliament ... The [election] is the most direct evidence that people trust us."
Results
Voter turnout was 44% in the first round and 52% in the second round. Voter turnout among women slightly increased in both the first and second rounds of the election, which was attributed to Radičová's candidacy.