[1/10]Supporters of the Progressive Slovakia party react after the first polls for the country’s early parliamentary elections on September 30, 2023 in Bratislava, Slovakia. Portal/Radovan Stoklasa acquires license rights
- Fico would end the pro-Ukraine policy, PS would stay on course
- Smaller parties will be key to coalition building
BRATISLAVA, Sept 30 (Portal) – Slovak liberal party Progressive Slovakia (PS) led a parliamentary election on Saturday, early exit polls showed, potentially preventing former left-wing Prime Minister Robert Fico from returning his party to power, after he promised to stop military aid to neighboring Ukraine.
Progressive Slovakia won 23.5% of the vote, ahead of 21.9% for three-time Prime Minister Fico’s SMER-SSD party, an exit poll by the Focus agency for TV Markiza showed.
A second election poll by the Median agency for public broadcaster RTVS showed the Liberal party won 19.97% of the vote, ahead of 19.09% for Fico’s party in the country of 5.5 million people.
The PS Party has worked to maintain Slovakia’s strong support for Ukraine and would likely follow a liberal line within the European Union on issues such as majority voting to make the bloc more flexible, green politics and LGBTQ+ Right.
A government led by Fico and his SMER-SSD party would mean Slovakia joining Hungary in challenging the European Union’s consensus on support for Ukraine as the bloc tries to maintain unity in resisting Russia’s invasion.
The leading party that emerges from the election is expected to get the first chance to form a government, with no party expected to win an absolute majority.
The formation of a new government will depend on the results of more than half a dozen smaller parties, ranging from libertarians to right-wing extremists.
Reporting by Jan Lopatka in Prague and David W. Cerny in Bratislava; Additional reporting by Radovan Stoklasa in Trencianske Teplice and Jason Hovet and Michael Kahn in Prague; Edited by Helen Popper, David Holmes and Leslie Adler
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