COALITION RULE LIKELY OUTCOME OF ELECTION

LJUBLJANA A right-wing opposition party led by a former Slovenian prime minister won the most votes in parliamentary election on Sunday, but not enough to form a government on its own, Preliminary returns confirmed Sunday.

The State Election Commission said after counting about three-quarters of the ballots cast Sunday that Janez Jansa’s Slovenian Democratic Party was in first place with around 25 per cent of the vote. The next closest party, the List of Marjan Sarec, had about 12 per cent.

The Social Democrats are in third place with about 10 per cent, while the Left party and the Modern Center Party of outgoing Prime Minister Miro Cerar received about nine per cent.

The outcome means that none of the parties will have a majority in Slovenia’s 90-member parliament and negotiations on a coalition government are likely.

Slovenia was once part of the former Yugoslavia and is the native home of U.S. first lady Melania Trump. Bordering Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Italy and a slice of the Adriatic Sea, the country joined the European Union in 2004 and has used the euro as its official currency since 2007.

Jansa, pictured, who served as prime minister during 2004-2008 and 20122013, tweeted after the exit poll was published that “we do not fear tomorrow; we are looking forward to it.”