Peter Pellegrini, speaker of the Slovak National Council (parliament) and leader of the ruling centre-left Hlas party, has announced the date of the presidential elections, with the first round scheduled for March 23, and confimed that, as long expected, he will be a candidate.

"If the party leadership agrees my candidacy and all requirements are met, then...I will announce my candidacy on January 19," Pellegrini said after announcing the election dates at a news conference, Reuters reported.

Pellegrini, a former premier, would likely be backed by Prime Minister Robert Fico's left populist Smer party. Pellegrini was a member of Smer until he broke with Fico after the 2020 general election, but he joined forces again with his former boss after the September 2023 general election.

If Pellegrini becomes president, analysts expect Smer to exercise even greater influence over or even reabsorb Hlas, which splintered from Smer in 2018 amid mass protests against the last Smer-led cabinet. 

As president, Pellegrini would also cement Fico's control over Slovak politics, as he would replace liberal President Zuzana Caputova, a staunch critic, though the Hlas leader has also tried to present a less radical face than the premier and has for example supported military aid for Ukraine.

Pellegrini's main opponent is likely to be former foreign minister and pro-West diplomat Ivan Korcok, who secured his candidature after he collected more than 15,000 signatures for his nomination. Another ex-foreign minister, Jan Kubis, also secured enough signatures required for non-parliamentary candidates.

Pellegrini also said he would retain the position of the speaker of parliament when he runs. “Powers of the chairman of the parliament do not collide with presidential elections in any way,” he stated during his announcement.

The move was slammed by opposition politicians. “Since [the] elections [in September] Pellegrini [has known] he will run for president,” Richard Sulik, leader of the neoliberal SaS, told the media, adding that Pellegrini has been postponing the election date “artificially”.

Slovak law requires the presidential elections to be held at least 60 days ahead of the end of the current presidential term.  Caputova’s term expires on June 15 and she won’t seek re-election.

“I read this as a confirmation that if he [Pellegrini] becomes president, then he will serve the interest of Robert Fico,” the leader of the strongest opposition party, Progressive Slovakia, Michal Simecka, commented following Pellegrini’s statement.  

If none of the candidates win a majority of the vote in the first round, there will be a second round on April 6.

Polls show Pellegrini is likely to face Korcok in the runoff after the first round. Polls also show Pellegrini is a clear favourite for the runoff at 60%-40%.

Pellegrini is due to formally confirm his own candidature after the summit of his centre-left Hlas party, which he chairs, on January 19 in his home town of Banska Bystrica in Central Slovakia.

Slovak media have speculated that Pellegrini has been hesitating to confirm his candidature before the ruling coalition completes a judicial overhaul so as to avoid the controversial dismantling of the Special Prosecutor Office and changes in the criminal code from becoming topics during the campaign.

However, with parliamentary obstructions delaying the passing of the changes in the judiciary, accompanied by weekly protests in the cities and towns in Slovakia, and criticism from the EU, the judicial overhaul is likely to become a topic in the presidential campaign even if the Smer-led coalition pushes ahead with the changes before the end of January.