Slovakia’s president has said she will not run for re-election in 2024, citing personal reasons for her decision.
“I will not run for a second term,” Zuzana Čaputová told reporters in Bratislava, saying she would complete her mandate that expires with elections scheduled next year.
“Before announcing this decision of mine, I had to estimate my strength for the next, potentially six years from today,” Čaputová added. “And after very honest consideration, I know today that those forces would not be enough for my next mandate.”
Though the office is largely ceremonial in Slovakia, the president ratifies international treaties, appoints top judges, is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and can veto laws passed by parliament.
The incumbent said one of the reasons for her decision was “consideration” for her family. “My decision is a personal one,” she said, “I am sorry if I disappoint those who expected my candidacy again.”
In an interview with the public television in December last year, Čaputová said she received death threats. “People who are threatening to kill me are using the vocabulary of some politicians. It does not only concern me, but also my loved ones,” she said.
Since her election as the country’s first female president, Čaputová has been facing continuous attacks from the populist former prime minister Robert Fico and his Smer-SD party. Fico has repeatedly labelled Čaputová an “American agent”.
According to pollsters, Čaputová is the most trusted Slovak politician. After a year in office, two-thirds of the population supported the president, but her approval rating has slipped to 43%.
Slovakia’s prime minister, Ľudovít Ódor, is leading Slovakia in an interim capacity with his caretaker government after lawmakers last week failed to express confidence in the cabinet, chosen by Čaputová.
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The EU country, with a population of 5.4 million, is gearing up for a snap election scheduled for 30 September, after parliament toppled the centrist government of Eduard Heger in a no-confidence vote on 15 December.
Heger kept running Slovakia until stepped down on 7 May after two of his ministers resigned earlier that month, following a case of €1.4m (£1.19m)-worth of subsidies granted to the family business of one of his ministers.
