Anti-corruption lawyer Zuzana Caputova changed the course of history by becoming the first female President of Slovakia. She defeated a high profile diplomat Maros Sefcovic nominated by the governing party (Smer-SD party), in a second round runoff votes on Saturday. Caputova won 58% of the votes with Sefcovic trailing on 42%. Even in the first round of the election held on March 16, Sefcovic received 18.66% of the vote and came in second place after Caputova who received 40.57% of votes.
Caputova has often expressed her liberal agenda by supporting LGBTQ rights and adoptions, although it is still illegal in the country. The major reason which drove the lawyer to become a leader was the murder of a journalist Jan Kuciak, who was killed at his residence along with his fiancée. He was probing the links between politicians and organised crime in February 2018.
The lawyer turned politician rode on a ‘campaign of change’ and vowed to end corruption in a country, which she said is run by “people pulling strings from behind (government)”. Caputova came into lime-light when she led a case against an illegal landfill lasting 14 years. She termed her election victory as a struggle between good and evil.