The opposition populist party Aid to Ukraine won the legislative elections

The Slovak populist party Smer-SD won the legislative elections held in Slovakia on Saturday, September 30, after almost all the votes were counted. The vote in this country with a population of 5.4 million, and a member of the European Union and NATO, is considered decisive in determining whether Slovakia can remain on its pro-Western path or shift more towards Russia. Smer-SD had promised during the election campaign to stop aid to neighboring Ukraine.

Contrary to the results of two opinion polls, the party of former Prime Minister Robert Fico received 23.3% of the votes, ahead of the centrist Progressive Slovakia Party, which received 17.03% of voters, after 99.43% of the votes were counted. Ballot cards. The final results are expected to appear on Sunday morning. Smer-SD said it would not comment on the vote until later Sunday

An anti-EU and anti-LGBT party

Slovak President Zuzana Caputova said this week that she would entrust the formation of the next government to the leader of the winning party, regardless of who that is. “Personal preference” As a former member of Progressive Slovakia. During a stormy election campaign, marked by particularly high rates of online misinformation and which led to numerous quarrels between candidates, Robert Fico attacked the European Union and NATO as well as the LGBT minority.

The winner of the election will need the help of smaller parties to form a majority coalition in the 150-seat parliament. This new government will replace the center-right coalition government that has been in power since 2020, which has changed hands three times in three years and which has provided significant military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.