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| Slovenians vote in run-off presidential election |
| Slovenia, 11.11.2007 |
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| LJUBLJANA (AFP) - Slovenians voted Sunday in a run-off presidential election tipped to be won by opposition centre-left candidate Danilo Turk despite allegations that he was a stooge of the former Yugoslavia in the run up to his country's 1991 independence.
Polling stations opened at 7:00 am (0600 GMT) and were to close at 7:00 pm (1800 GMT), with the first exit polls expected shortly thereafter.
Several hundred voters trickled in to polling booths and turnout was expected to pick up in the afternoon, officials said.
Slovenia's 1.7 million eligible voters are being asked to elect their third president -- who holds a largely ceremonial role -- since the country gained independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991.
Turk is expected to win a clear victory with over 68 percent of votes despite coming second in the first round of the election on October 21, according to opinion polls published last weekend.
A 70-year-old pensioner who identified himself only as Joze told AFP he had voted for Turk.
"I expect my candidate to win," he said calling Turk a "painkiller" in the rough and tumble world of Slovenian politics.
The winner of the poll will head the tiny but rich former communist state at a crucial time as it takes over the revolving six-month presidency of the European Union in January.
The ruling centre-right coalition's candidate, Lojze Peterle, is expected to win between 32 percent and 31.1 percent according to the polls.
Former prime minister Peterle, 59, won 28.73 percent support in the first round ahead of the 55-year-old Turk, a relative newcomer in Slovenian politics, with 24.47 percent.
But opinion polls predicted that Turk, who is backed by the main opposition centre-left Social Democrats party, would gain votes that had gone in the first round to his main rival, centre-left former central bank governor Mitja Gaspari, who finished third with 24.1 percent of the vote.
The relatively moderate campaign that preceded the first round toughened last week as Prime Minister Janez Jansa, who backs Peterle, accused Turk of representing Yugoslav rather than Slovenian interests during the country's bid for independence.
"During the (run up to) independence, Danilo Turk represented Yugoslavia at the UN in Geneva and obviously represented its interests" rather than Slovenia's, Jansa said.
But on Saturday, Slovenia's first president Milan Kucan told AFP he had voted for Turk and expressed his disgust at the "excessive" allegations, saying: "I wish the past week had never happened."
The foreign ministry has issued a statement saying that Turk had been appointed to the UN by the former Yugoslav federation and only been named Slovenian ambassador to the UN in 1992.
Peterle on the other hand was prime minister of Slovenia's first democratically-elected government, which secured the country's independence.
While denying he represented Yugoslav interests while at the UN, Turk said the accusations would not hamper his collaboration with the government if he won Sunday's vote.
Opposition Social Democrat leader Boris Pahor told AFP that the ruling coalition's campaign against Turk could be interpreted as a sign of panic after the latest opinion polls.
"Turk has successfuly survived the attempts to question his credibility and such a move will only damage them (members of government)," he said, adding that the accusations could backfire with many voting for Turk.
A victory for Turk would represent a fresh blow for Jansa's coalition ahead of 2008 general elections, following its defeat in Slovenia's two largest cities, Ljubljana and Maribor in municipal elections last year.
Turnout in the first round of the presidential poll was 57.7 percent, down from 72 percent during the last presidential elections in 2002.
By Bojan Kavcic
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Address : Euro-Brew Ltd., Hlboká 22, 917 01 Trnava, Slovakia
Tel. : +421 33 53 418 53, Fax : +421 33 53 418 52, E-mail : info@eurobrew.sk |
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![Foto : Candidate Danilo Turk run-off presidential election
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Danilo Türk (IPA: [tyrk], born 19 February 1952) is a Slovene lawyer and diplomat. He served as the first Slovene United Nations Abassador between 1992 and 2000, and was subsequently UN Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs (2000-2005). Among other things, he has adressed the Security Council on Israeli-Palestinian issues.
He was born in Maribor, where he spent his youth. His mother was a seamstress, his father a high school teacher. He is currently employed as a professor of international law and dean of student affairs at the Legal Faculty of the University of Ljubljana.
In June 2007 he filed as a candidate in the October 2007 Slovene presidential election. He is backed by Social Democrats, Zares and DeSUS and also by the non-parliamentary Christian Socialists and Democrats. In the first round of the presidential elections, held on 21 October 2007, he placed second with 24.54% of the vote, which brought him into the run-off against Lojze Peterle, who received 28.50%. The run-off will take place on 11 November 2007.](/foto//f_00750_m.jpg)