Polls opened on Sunday in Slovenia’s election pitting incumbent Prime Minister Robert Golob against right-wing Janez Janša, with victory and a parliamentary majority falling short of either in a vote that could be decided by junior coalition partners.
About 1.7 million Slovenians will be able to vote at polling stations that open at 7 am across the Alpine country and close at 7 pm. The election commission is expected to announce the preliminary results after 8.30 pm.
The latest polls showed Jansa’s pro-Trump Slovenia Democratic Party (SDS) and Golob’s Freedom Movement (GS) in a close race after an eleventh-hour campaign involving allegations of foreign interference and corruption.
Jansa said the vote is one of the most important in Slovenia’s 35 years of independence, and will determine the future direction of the country.
“I hope that Slovenia will get rid of organized crime,” he told reporters after casting his vote in the village of Arnace, 85 kilometers northwest of the capital Ljubljana.
Analysts say Jansa, who previously served as prime minister three times in the European Union and Nato member states of 2 million people, has a loyal voter base and the lower the number of voters, the more likely he is to win the election.
