Leftist wins Slovenia presidential runoff

LJUBLJANA, Nov 11 (Reuters) Leftist former diplomat Danilo Turk today won Slovenia's presidential runoff ahead of a government-backed conservative and will lead the country when it takes over the European Union presidency in January.

Preliminary results on the National Electoral Commission Web site showed that Turk, 55, a law professor supported by the left, took 68.2 per cent of the vote against 31.8 per cent for Lojze Peterle, with 98.6 per cent of the vote counted.

Final results are due in 10 days.

Reuters SBA VP0248