Progressive Slovakia leading in election, exit polls show
World
Parliamentary election was poised on a knife's edge
BRATISLAVA (Reuters) - Slovakia's parliamentary election was poised on a knife's edge on Sunday with exit polls handing liberal party Progressive Slovakia (PS) an initial lead while early official results put former leftist Prime Minister Robert Fico's party on top.
With 30% of voting districts reporting, the SMER-SSD party led by Fico - who has vowed to end military aid to Ukraine - led with nearly 25% of the vote. The HLAS party and potential Fico ally followed at 17%, with PS in third with 13% of the vote.
"What has been counted are small districts," said Robert Kalinak, a SMER-SSD candidate and long-time Fico ally. "It all depends on when you have 50%, a critical mass of voters. Then you can start thinking about how many votes can still shift."
The early results came mostly from Fico strongholds outside the major cities where voters are likely to favour the PS party.
The PS party has advocated maintaining Slovakia's strong backing for Ukraine, and would also likely follow a liberal line within the European Union on issues such as majority voting to make the bloc more flexible, green policies and
"I want everyone to be prepared for a probably long and tense night," PS party leader Michal Simecka, a former reporter and Oxford graduate, told supporters.
A government led by Fico and his SMER-SSD party would see NATO member Slovakia joining Hungary in challenging the European Union's consensus on support for Ukraine, just as the bloc looks to maintain unity in opposing Russia's invasion.
With no party projected to win an outright majority, forming a new government will hinge on results for more than half a dozen smaller parties, from libertarians to far-right extremists.
An exit poll by Focus agency for TV Markiza showed PS winning 23.5% of the vote, ahead of 21.9% for three-time prime minister Fico's SMER-SSD party.
A second exit poll by Median agency for public broadcaster RTVS showed the liberal party winning 19.97% of the vote, ahead of 19.09% for SMER-SSD.
Mikulas Hanes, a political analyst at NMS Market Research Slovensko, said the exit poll by Focus showed Fico will have difficulty forming a government as potential ally the Slovak National Party (SNS) looked uncertain to win seats.
