Slovakia's president has accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Robert Fico, who offered to step down after facing a public backlash over the murder of a journalist, a junior partner in the ruling coalition said on Thursday.
Fico's Smer-SD party will put forward a candidate to replace him, according to Most-Hid, the smallest party in Slovakia's three-way Government. "Smer-SD as the strongest (coalition) party will table its candidate for Prime Minister. The President has agreed to this," Most-Hid chairman Bela Bugar told journalists. "One third of the Government members will be replaced," he added.
President Andrej Kiska was to make a statement later today, his office said. Slovak media reported that Deputy Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini, 42, was tipped to succeed Fico.