A moratorium was put in place today on the presidential candidates Prime Minister Robert Fico and philanthropist Andrej Kiska as they head to the second and final round of the presidential elections on Saturday.
Although Kiska (24%) caught up on Fico (28%) dramatically in the first round and was previously expected to gain the votes of the other failed candidates, a last minute show of reluctance from the two nearest candidates Milan Knazko and Radoslav Prochazka may have deprived Kiska of some much needed votes to beat Fico in the second round. Knazko issued a statement today showing his support for Kiska, however.
The result is still expected to be close, but the outcome unknown. Only citizens of the Slovak Republic have the right to cast a vote.
The betting offices, however, which are taking bets right up to midnight on Friday, are giving better odds for Kiska to win (1.5 to 1 against odds for Fico of 2.6 to 1, according to a report by SME daily. Not a bad improvement over odds for Kiska of 6 to 1 at the beginning of February, when Fico had odds of 1.1 to 1.