After more than 99 % of the votes from Saturday's Slovak parliamentary elections were counted, former Prime Minister Robert Fico's Smer-Social Democracy (Smer-SD) party is the winner with more than 23 %.

The elections in Slovakia have decided the future direction of the country. Take a look at the current results of Slovakia's snap elections. Volební průzkumy had two favorites. One was Robert Fico of the SMER-SD party, who at the end of the campaign was being challenged by Michal Šimečka of the Progresive Slovakia party.

After more than 99 % of the votes from Saturday's Slovak parliamentary elections were counted, former Prime Minister Robert Fico's Smer-Social Democracy (Smer-SD) party is the winner with more than 23 %. The liberal Progressive Slovakia (PS) movement came second by a wide margin, with over 17 percent of the vote. Behind it was the Voice-Social Democracy (Hlas-SD) formation of former Fico's fellow party member Peter Pellegrini, which won less than 15 percent of the vote. Voter turnout exceeded 68 percent, the highest since 2002.

According to the results so far, a total of seven parties will enter Parliament. Fourth place belongs to former Czech PM Igor Matovič's coalition of Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OLaNO), which has just over 9 % of the vote. The conservative Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) came in at just under seven percent, while the liberal Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party of Richard Sulík, just over six percent.

The Slovak National Party (SNS) is likely to be the last party to enter the chamber, as it is holding above the required 5 %. By contrast, the populist Republic and the Alliance party, representing the Hungarian minority, fell below that threshold during the count.

Michal Šimečka, the head of Progressive Slovakia, said he respects the Smer-SD victory but sees it as bad news and a big risk for Slovakia. "The next few days and the negotiations of the political parties will show how realistic the realisation of this risk will be," Šimečka said.

Pellegrini, on the other hand, spoke of possible cooperation with Fico's party in forming a governing coalition. However, these two formations would need another party to achieve a majority in the 150-member parliament. Milan Majerský, the head of the KDH, did not rule out negotiations with Smer-SD today.

The party that exceeds the threshold of five percent of the electoral vote will enter Parliament. A coalition of two or three parties must then win at least seven percent of the vote. Larger coalitions of four or more parties need a minimum of ten percent. In the upcoming Slovak parliamentary elections, 24 parties and one coalition are standing for election and need to win more than seven percent of the vote.

Fico rejects military support for Ukraine

Ex-Prime Minister Robert Fico (59) has been labelled a populist and demagogue by the Slovak opposition, which he himself rejects. He headed the Slovak government for ten years and his position seemed unshakeable. His Smer-SD party has won four parliamentary elections in a row. However, in March 2018, Fico had to leave the post of prime minister after the murder of journalist Ján Kuciak, which triggered a deep political crisis in Slovakia. After his resignation, he returned to the parliamentary bench and was elected to the National Council in 2016, but did not exercise his mandate in accordance with the constitution during his time as prime minister. Last year, he was charged with several crimes, including supporting a criminal group, but his prosecution was eventually dropped.

Commentators say a victory for Fico's party in the election could cause a reversal in Slovakia's previous pro-EU foreign policy and its support for Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022. Fico, who has touted the Slovaks' adoption of the euro as a "historic decision", has recently spared no expense in his attacks on NATO, the EU and war-torn Ukraine in an effort to woo voters on the far left and right, according to media reports.

"The war in Ukraine began in 2014 when Ukrainian fascists killed Russian civilian victims," he said in a recent video message. "Our key interest is to have good relations with all countries in the world, including Russian Federation," he added, calling Western countries "warmongers". He also recently said he would not approve the arrest of Vladimir Putin, who has an international arrest warrant out for him, if he came to Slovakia. And the media also quoted Fico as saying that if his Smer-SD party wins the elections, Slovakia will not send a single bullet to Ukraine.

E15.cz/Roz