The 1st round of the Presidential election in Slovakia was held on Saturday, 15th March. The voter turnout was quite low, only around 43%. Most of the analysts ascribe it to the bad weather, when wind and storms were recorded all around the country.
In the village of Veľká Lomnica, which is located in the High Tatras region, the voting had to be prolonged for one more hour due to an electricity black-out. According to Soňa Tobaková, one of the Bratislava District Election Committees chair, in Bratislava the citizens came to vote gradually and haven't been deterred even by the afternoon's cold rain. She noticed also a big turnout of first-time voters. “Practically every first-time voter in the presidential election on Saturday took pictures of themselves as a memento, usually poised with their ballot papers at the ballot box”, said Tobaková.
Some members of an election committee in Trebišov, in eastern Slovakia, were recording who among the local voters had cast votes and who hadn't, according to a complaint filed with the Central Election Committee during the election day. Another recorded complaint criticized the lack of a dress code for election committee members. “Some citizens don't like how members of district election committees are dressed and would prefer to see more formal clothing,” said Eva Chmelová from the Central Election Committee.
