Slovak govt critic Caputova emerges as presidential favourite

The vote will take place a year after the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak plunged the EU member into crisis, raising concerns about media freedom and corruption and sparking mass anti-government protests.

Then prime minister Robert Fico was forced to resign although he remains the leader of the ruling party and is a close ally of current premier Peter Pellegrini.

A 45-year-old divorced mother of two and deputy chairman of the non-parliamentary Progressive Slovakia party, Caputova told AFP that "people are calling for change."

She said that as president she would "help this country move forward to become a more fair and just society."

"After the murder of Jan Kuciak it turned out that investigative journalists were right about our country not always working equitably," added the 2016 recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize, which is considered the world's top award for grassroots environmental activism.

Slovakia's three main bookmakers on Friday predicted that Caputova will win round one of the vote, to be held March 16 -- echoing opinion polls that showed her with a wide lead.

Caputova had 52.9 percent support compared to Sefcovic's 16.7 percent according to a survey last week by the AKO agency, the last poll before a two-week moratorium.

Another survey by the Focus institute gave Caputova 44.8 percent and Sefcovic 22.1 percent.

Despite her wide lead, Caputova is unlikely to win the entire election in one round since she would need to secure backing from 50 percent of all eligible voters and the turnout is expected to be around 60 percent.

A run-off between the top two candidates is scheduled for March 30 in the eurozone country of 5.4 million people.