# 2009 Slovak presidential election

Presidential elections were held in Slovakia in March and April 2009, the country's third direct presidential elections. After no candidate received a majority of the vote in the first round on 21 March, the second round on 4 April saw Ivan Gašparovič become the first Slovak president to be re-elected, defeating opposition candidate Iveta Radičová by 56% to 44%.

## Candidates

There were seven candidates for the first round, which was held on 21 March:
* Ivan Gašparovič: incumbent president, supported by governing parties Direction – Social Democracy and Slovak National Party, and extra-parliamentary Movement for Democracy
* Iveta Radičová: candidate of the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union – Democratic Party, supported by the Party of the Hungarian Coalition, Christian Democratic Movement and Civic Conservative Party
* František Mikloško: candidate of the Conservative Democrats of Slovakia
* Zuzana Martináková: candidate of the Free Forum
* Milan Melník [sk]: independent candidate supported by the governing People's Party – Movement for a Democratic Slovakia
* Milan Sidor [sk]: independent candidate supported by the Communist Party of Slovakia
* Dagmara Bollová: independent candidate, former member of the Communist Party of Slovakia
Gašparovič and Radičová advanced to the second round, winning 46.7% and 38.1% of the first round votes, respectively. Slovak women tended to be more supportive of Radičová.
In the second round of elections, held on 4 April, Gašparovič received 1,234,787 votes (55.5%), winning election. Radičová received 44.5% of the vote. After the election, Gašparovič said, "I am glad I can be standing here today with the prime minister and the speaker of the parliament ... The [election] is the most direct evidence that people trust us."

## Results

Voter turnout was 44% in the first round and 52% in the second round. Voter turnout among women slightly increased in both the first and second rounds of the election, which was attributed to Radičová's candidacy.
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | First round | First round | Second round | Second round |
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Votes | % |
| | Ivan Gašparovič | Smer, SNS, HZD | 876,061 | 46.71 | 1,234,787 | 55.53 |
| | Iveta Radičová | SDKÚ–DS, SMK, KDH, OKS | 713,735 | 38.05 | 988,808 | 44.47 |
| | František Mikloško | Conservative Democrats of Slovakia | 101,573 | 5.42 | | |
| | Zuzana Martináková | Free Forum | 96,035 | 5.12 | | |
| | Milan Melník [sk] | Movement for a Democratic Slovakia | 45,985 | 2.45 | | |
| | Dagmara Bollová | Independent | 21,378 | 1.14 | | |
| | Milan Sidor [sk] | Communist Party of Slovakia | 20,862 | 1.11 | | |
| Total | Total | Total | 1,875,629 | 100.00 | 2,223,595 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 1,875,629 | 99.10 | 2,223,595 | 99.21 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 17,040 | 0.90 | 17,767 | 0.79 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,892,669 | 100.00 | 2,241,362 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 4,339,331 | 43.62 | 4,339,331 | 51.65 |
| Source: IFES, IFES |||||||

### By region
#### First round

| Region | Gašparovič | Radičová | Mikloško | Martináková | Melník | Bollová | Sidor |
| Bratislava Region | 33.21 | 52.60 | 6.75 | 4.74 | 1.62 | 0.84 | 0.56 |
| Trnava Region | 37.80 | 49.90 | 4.73 | 4.08 | 1.64 | 1.28 | 0.57 |
| Trenčín Region | 57.23 | 26.17 | 4.59 | 5.98 | 3.38 | 1.44 | 1.21 |
| Nitra Region | 43.29 | 45.24 | 3.70 | 4.23 | 1.92 | 0.91 | 0.72 |
| Žilina Region | 56.22 | 26.10 | 6.75 | 5.53 | 3.15 | 1.23 | 1.02 |
| Banská Bystrica Region | 51.09 | 35.80 | 3.18 | 5.22 | 2.23 | 1.23 | 1.23 |
| Prešov Region | 52.52 | 27.15 | 8.55 | 5.75 | 2.75 | 1.20 | 2.09 |
| Košice Region | 42.26 | 41.97 | 5.00 | 5.37 | 2.92 | 1.06 | 1.43 |
| Total in Slovakia | 46.71 | 38.05 | 5.41 | 5.12 | 2.45 | 1.13 | 1.11 |
| Cities | 42.20 | 42.54 | 5.61 | 5.35 | 2.11 | 1.09 | 1.06 |
| Villages | 52.28 | 32.49 | 5.16 | 4.82 | 2.86 | 1.19 | 1.16 |

#### Second round

| Region | Ivan Gašparovič | Iveta Radičová |
| Bratislava Region | 38.80 | 61.20 |
| Trnava Region | 42.17 | 57.89 |
| Trenčín Region | 70.76 | 29.24 |
| Nitra Region | 46.07 | 53.93 |
| Žilina Region | 70.52 | 29.48 |
| Banská Bystrica Region | 59.32 | 40.68 |
| Prešov Region | 66.54 | 33.46 |
| Košice Region | 50.69 | 49.31 |
| Total in Slovakia | 55.53 | 44.47 |
| Cities | 50.73 | 49.27 |
| Villages | 61.29 | 38.71 |