[2] Kiska succeeded incumbent Ivan Gašparovič, who was unable to run due to term limits established by the Constitution.

[5] The political right was fragmented; the People's Platform (an alliance of three right-wing parties)[7] failed to agree on a common candidate.

[8] According to multiple sources, SDKÚ would have preferred former Prime Minister Iveta Radičová as their candidate, however, she made clear that she did not want to run for president again.

[13] Andrej Kiska was the first candidate to officially announce his presidential candidacy and his billboards appeared around Slovakia long before the names of his competitors were known.

[7] The young constitutional lawyer Prochazka, who campaigned as the conservative candidate, was formerly a member with the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), but ran as an independent.

His campaign mainly targeted the large catholic population, with issues such as abortion, same-sex marriage and traditional family values.

His campaign also stressed his youth as a strength, as well as his background as a constitutional lawyer, with his official slogans reading: "A young president?

[16] The second round of the election, which pitted Robert Fico against Andrej Kiska, saw the candidates engage in a series of televised presidential debates.

[17] All the defeated candidates from the first round subsequently backed Kiska, while international social-democrats such as French president Francois Hollande and Speaker of the European Parliament Martin Schultz endorsed Fico.