Brati

Bratislava  - Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic won re- election Saturday, in a popularity test for leftist Prime Minister Robert Fico, preliminary results showed.

Gasparovic, 68, emerged victorious with 55.5 per cent of the vote, defeating opposition candidate Iveta Radicova, 52, who followed with 44.4 per cent, the Slovak Statistics Office said as 99.9 per cent of polling stations finished counting votes early Sunday.

The run-off election brought 51.6 per cent of Slovaks to the polls, the statisticians said.

Bratislava  - Slovak voters began electing their new head of state Saturday as polling stations opened across Slovakia, following two weeks of a nationalist-tinted campaign.

The new president is set to emerge from a tight duel in the run-off between the incumbent, President Ivan Gasparovic, 68, and opposition lawmaker Iveta Radicova, 52.

The run-off is viewed as a test for highly popular Prime Minister Robert Fico, who heavily campaigned for the incumbent, and hopes to retain control of all top posts in the Central European country of 5.4 million.

Bratislava - Neither of the main candidates in Slovakia's presidential election secured enough votes for outright victory, results showed Sunday, forcing a run off contest in two week's time.

Saturday's election was won by incumbent President Ivan Gasparovic, 67, with 46.7 per cent of the vote, whilst his chief rival, lawmaker Iveta Radicova, 52, had 38 per cent.

That result is far closer than final opinion polls had beeen predicting, but neither due to low turnout neither candidate could be declared president.

Sunday's complete, but unofficial, results were provided by the Slovak Statistics Office.

Prague  - Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico Saturday threw his support behind presidential election front-runner President Ivan Gasparovic as Slovaks voted for their new head of state.

Campaigning has been banned in Slovakia since Thursday morning, but Fico made the remarks in the neighbouring Czech Republic capital Prague.

Speaking to a congress of the opposition Czech Social Democratic Party, Fico said that any elections - be they for a party leader or a president - call for continuity at a time of the economic crisis.