Slovakia faces a possible change in politics. A left-right coalition led by Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini has been ruling since March 2018, but according to a pre-election poll, their majority is shaking.
Bratislava (AP) - The eagerly awaited parliamentary election has begun in Slovakia. More than four million people are called to redefine the 150 seats in the National Council.
The polling stations opened on Saturday morning at 7 a.m. and closed at 10 p.m. The previous three-party coalition of Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini's socialists, nationalists and representatives of the Hungarian minority has to fear for its majority, according to surveys.
The conservative protest party OLaNO by entrepreneur Igor Matovic is a surprising favorite. The abbreviation stands for "normal people and independent personalities". The official result is expected on Sunday.
A few hours before the election, Prime Minister Pellegrini warned in a Facebook video of a new wave of migrants from Turkey to Europe. His government does not underestimate this danger. "It must be the case that Slovakia decides who is allowed to enter its territory and who is not," said the 44-year-old. Slovakia, along with the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, belongs to the Visegrad group, which has so far strictly resisted the redistribution of refugees.
It is the first general election in the Central Eastern European country since the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kusnirova exactly two years ago. The act had caused horror and mass demonstrations against corruption and political machinations.