Slovenia’s incumbent President Pahor wins first round

By Lejla Biogradlija

LJUBJANA, Slovenia (AA) – A runoff is scheduled on Nov. 12 for Slovenia's presidential elections since no candidate passed that country's 50 percent election threshold, according to the election commission.

After counting some 99,90 percent of the votes, incumbent President Barut Pahor won the first round of votes by 47,07.

Mayor of the town of Kamnik -- in the central northern part of the country -- and former actor Marjan Sarec turned out to be Pahor’s strongest challenger with 24,97 of the votes.

43,57 percent of some 1.7 million voted among nine candidates, five of whom are women.

Pahor and Sarec will once again face a head-to-head on Nov. 12.

Pahor said he is hopeful for the second round and thanked voters for their support.

Sarec said he hopes to build more support by re-election day.

Pahor, 53, a long-time Social Democrat and former Slovenian prime minister, has been head of state since 2012. He announced his intention to seek a second term in December 2016.

Sunday's presidential election is the sixth one since the country's independence in 1991.