Iran Press/ Europe: The two best positioned candidates, Anze Logar, a member of parliament of the opposition centre-right Slovenian Democratic Party, and independent candidate, lawyer Natasa Pirc Musar, will compete in the second round.
In the first round, Logar received 33.9 percent of the votes while Musar got 26.9 percent, the State Election Commission said after counting 99 percent of all votes. The turnout stood at around 51 percent.
The rest of the votes were distributed among five other candidates each of whom received 15.4 percent or less.
Prime Minister Robert Golob, head of the centre-left Freedom Movement, told the national TV Slovenia after the preliminary results were released that he expects Musar to win in the second round.
Although the role of the Slovenian president is mainly ceremonial, the president is the head of the Slovenian army and nominates many high officials, including the central bank governor. Most of the nominations have to be confirmed by parliament.
The new president is set to start the five-year mandate on Dec. 23 and will replace the outgoing President Borut Pahor who is completing his second and final mandate.
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