A PRO-WESTERN career diplomat defeated a close ally of Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico in the first round of the presidential election on Sunday.

Former Foreign Minister Ivan Korcok secured 42.13 per cent of the votes and Peter Pellegrini came second with 37.28 per cent.

They will now face a run-off on April 6 for the central European nation’s largely ceremonial post. 

A former justice minister and judge, Stefan Harabin, who has openly sided with Russia in its war with Ukraine, came third with 11.79 per cent.

In all, nine male candidates sought to become Slovakia’s sixth head of state since it gained independence in 1993 when Czechoslovakia split in two.

Mr Korcok, who served as Slovakia’s ambassador to the United States and supports his country’s membership in the European Union and Nato, called the result “promising.”

But opinion polls suggest Mr Pellegrini, who was considered a favourite in the race, is more likely to win the run-off.

Mr Pellegrini said on Saturday he was not “necessarily” questioning Slovakia’s membership of the EU and Nato.

He said: “That we talk about a more sovereign voice of Slovakia or about a sovereign foreign policy doesn’t necessarily mean that we change the basic direction of our foreign policy.”