Winkler Quits Bratislava Mayoral Race, Backs Rival Ráž

Martin Winkler withdrew his candidacy for mayor of Bratislava on September 28 and announced his support for independent candidate Jozef Ráž, who promised Winkler the post of first vice-mayor overseeing city finances if he wins the municipal election scheduled for October 24.¹³

Joint press conference

Winkler and Ráž announced the alliance together, saying they would combine their campaign programs. Winkler said he was not abandoning the race but joining Ráž to secure change in the city's leadership. "I want to emphasize, I am not leaving, I am not giving up and I am not running away, but I am joining forces with Jozef Ráž and supporting him in his candidacy," he said.³¹⁵

Winkler argued that a split vote among candidates seeking change would prevent that change from happening. "When people's voices who want change are divided, change will not come. It is a decision of reason over emotion," he said. Ráž made a similar point, saying many residents of Bratislava want change after eight years and that fragmented votes would stop it from occurring.²³⁴

Policy commitments

Ráž said he wanted managers with project-management experience and local political background around him, citing Winkler's record, and promised he would make Winkler his first vice-mayor responsible for city finances if he wins. Winkler and Ráž declared they would not raise property taxes for four years and said they agreed on parking, security, housing and city finances policy, while acknowledging differences on some other issues.¹³⁵⁴

Ráž also promised that no mosques would be built in Bratislava under his leadership, and, according to Pravda, that 100,000 trees would not be cut down in the city. Both candidates said they would not bring national politics into municipal politics, and Winkler denied any connection to the Smer-SD party.³¹

Field narrows

The withdrawal came alongside that of another candidate, Miroslav Heredoš of Vlastenecký blok, who cited serious health reasons. Heredoš said he suffered a heart attack and was hospitalised on September 26, 2026, requiring four to six weeks of medical rest. He explained that, as a candidate for mayor of Bratislava, he was publicly announcing his withdrawal for serious health reasons, namely a heart attack and the hospitalisation that followed on September 26, 2026, which required four to six weeks of doctor-ordered medical rest, and that he was withdrawing his candidacy, he said. Dana Čahojová also withdrew from the race, according to Pravda.²³¹

Remaining candidates named in the dossier include Ľubomír Geci, a 29-year-old software developer running for MySlovensko; Zuzana Šubová, a 57-year-old economist for the Pirate Party; and Matúš Vallo, the 49-year-old current mayor and two-time former mayor, running for the Team Bratislava, PS, SaS and Demokrati coalition. Reports differ on the exact number of remaining candidates, with STVR stating four are currently running and ta3 disputing that figure; Pravda separately reported that 29 candidates remain on the ballot overall.¹²⁴³

Reaction

Matúš Vallo criticised the alliance on social media, according to Pravda and ta3. He said the alignment between Smer and Winkler showed that political patronage had taken priority over values, and, according to Pravda, accused the Winkler-Ráž pairing of distributing political appointments and giving Smer a new ally and greater power. "Spojenie sa SMERu s Winklerom ukazuje, že politické trafiky dostali prednosť pred hodnotami," Vallo said, according to ta3.³⁴

Political scientist Jozef Lenč, cited by Pravda, said a Ráž victory would give Smer a strong political weapon. Pravda also reported that Winkler had said in June that he would never withdraw in favor of Ráž, a claim not corroborated by the other sources in the dossier. Startitup.sk reported that Winkler's support for Ráž does not amount to alignment with Smer-SD, describing the move as a strategic decision to unite voters opposed to change under the current administration.³⁵