Slovenia to hold runoff for 2022 presidential election
Slovenia will hold a runoff election today for the Balkan state’s 2022 presidential election.
Right-wing MP Anze Logar faces off against Independent Natasa Pirc Musar—a lawyer and human rights activist—for the largely ceremonial role. While Logar won the most votes among the seven candidates in the first round—securing 33.9%—his failure to capture at least 50% triggered an automatic runoff. Pirc Musar also progressed, having come in second at almost 26.8%.
Expect Pirc Musar to win as centrists and liberal voters—who represent the majority of ballots cast in the first round—rally behind her in an attempt to stave off Logar’s conservative policy. Pirc Mussar would be Slovenia’s first female president and is expected to champion LGBTQ+ rights and other liberal values.
Her victory would also represent continued public confidence in the ruling liberal government of Prime Minister Robert Golob, who ousted former right-wing Prime Minister Janez Jansa in June. Logar served as Jansa’s foreign minister, and for many Slovenians Jansa’s undemocratic and authoritarian tendencies hang as a specter over Logar’s campaign. While Logar positioned himself as independent of Jansa, the fear of the latter’s return likely boosted Pirc Musar’s campaign as much as her own appeal.
