Sefcovic conceded defeat and congratulated his rival. “I’m extremely happy about the result,” Caputova said. “It’s an extremely strong mandate for me,” she said.
“Zuzana, Zuzana,” her supporters chanted. Caputova, 45, has little experience in politics and attracted voters who are appalled by corruption and mainstream politics. She only recently became vice chairman of the Progressive Slovakia, a party so new it has not had a chance to run in parliamentary elections. Caputova resigned from her party post after winning the first round of the presidential vote two weeks ago. She framed the election as a struggle between good and evil, BBC News reports.  The election follows the murder of an investigative journalist last year. Caputova cited Jan Kuciak’s death as one of the reasons she decided to run for president, which is a largely ceremonial role. Kuciak was looking into links between politicians and organised crime when he was shot alongside his fiancée in February 2018.Caputova becomes Slovakia’s fifth president since the country gained independence after the split of Czechoslovakia in 1993. The president of the nation of 5.4 million people has the power to pick the prime minister, appoint Constitutional Court judges and veto laws. Parliament can override the veto with a simple majority, however. The government, led by the prime minister, possesses most executive powers.