Voters in Slovakia will choose today between leftist former prime minister Rober Fico, who wants to end military aid to neighboring Ukraine, and pro-Western liberals.
The final polls show that Mr Fico’s party (SMER-SSD) enjoys almost the same support as the Slovakian Progressive party (SP). The winner of the election will try to form a coalition government to replace the interim administration that has been running the country of about 5.5 million people since May.
Polling stations will close at 10 p.m., while one polling station will stay open an extra 40 minutes after a medical emergency briefly suspended voting. Post-voting polls will be released within a few hours after the polls close.
A government led by the leftist Fico would mean that Slovakia would side with Hungary in challenging the European Union’s support for Ukraine. The bloc is trying to maintain unity against Russian aggression in Ukraine.
But if the Slovak Progressive Party (SP) wins, the country would continue the foreign policy course, maintaining strong support for Ukraine, more liberal policies on issues such as the green economy and rights for the LGBTQ+ group.
“Now it’s up to the voters,” said the head of the Slovakia Progressive Party (SP) Michal Simecka, after casting his vote in the capital Bratislava. He is also the vice-president of the European Parliament.
Mr. Fico posted a video on Facebook where he is seen voting accompanied by his mother, saying he hoped “common sense” would prevail, hinting that the country would not go through adventures, whether on migration or the military, as he says.
Neither party is expected to get the necessary majority to form the government. The party that gets the most votes will have to form a governing coalition with smaller third parties.