An opinion poll showed that the Western-oriented liberal Progressive Party of Slovakia is leading the elections in Slovakia on Saturday, followed by the left-wing populist opposition party Smir.
Progressive Slovakia, led by former journalist and Oxford University graduate Michal Šemeka, received 23.5 percent of the vote, followed by former Prime Minister Robert Fico Smir with 21.9 percent, a Fox/Markesa exit poll showed shortly after polls closed at 12:00 GMT. 10:45pm CET.
According to political custom in Slovakia, the most likely candidate gets the first opportunity to form a majority in the 150-seat parliament.
With the country deeply polarized, this rule theoretically puts Simicka in a strong position to form a coalition for what will be his first term as prime minister, if he can find enough allies in conservative Slovakia willing to work with him and his LGBT+ platform.
Saturday’s election is seen as pivotal for Slovakia’s future, with Fico promising to stop sending arms to Ukraine, block Kiev’s potential NATO membership, and “take money from the banks.” [who] They have billions.”
Fico, known for his pro-Moscow sympathies, said at a pre-election rally in his hometown of Tobochany on August 30 that “the war in Ukraine did not start a year ago, it started in 2014, when the Nazis and Ukrainian fascists started killing Russians.” Citizens of Donbass and Luhansk.”
Meanwhile, Simicka told a crowd at the Progressive Slovakia party headquarters that his party’s voters “want a decent European future for their families and their nation, a future where we can invest in our teachers and schools, our healthcare professionals, and our hospitals.”
Potential partners for Šimečka’s party include OĽaNO, which received 8 percent in the exit poll. the liberal Sloboda Solidarity (Freedom and Solidarity) by 6.4 percent; and the Christian Democrats by 5.3 percent. Together with progressive Slovakia, they will receive 43.2% of the vote, giving them 85 seats and a 10-seat majority.
Meanwhile, Samir’s natural partners include the Social Democrats of Halas (Voice), a breakaway from Fico’s party in 2021, which will be disappointed by its third-place finish with 12.2 percent. Other possibilities include the far-right Republica party, which received 6%.
No other party received more than 5% in exit polls, the minimum for parliamentary representation.
The failure of the National Socialist Party’s nationalists to cross the 5% mark – they received just 4.4% – may ultimately thwart Fico’s bid to win another term as prime minister.
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