Hard right party takes lead in early vote count
LJUBLJANA, Slovenia — A right-wing opposition party led by a former prime minister won the most votes in Slovenia’s parliamentary election Sunday, but not enough to form a government on its own, according to preliminary results.
The State Election Commission said after counting some 90 percent of the ballots that Janez Jansa’s Slovenian Democratic Party received around 25 percent of the vote. The secondplace anti-establishment List of Marjan Sarec trailed with 12 percent.
The Social Democrats came in third with nearly 10 percent, while the Modern Center Party of the outgoing prime minister, Miro Cerar, and the Left both received around 9 percent.
The preliminary tally means no party secured a majority in Slovenia’s 90-member parliament, and the likely next step is negotiations to form a coalition government.
Slovenia, once part of the former Yugoslavia, joined the European Union in 2004 and has used the euro as its official currency since 2007.
Jansa, who served as prime minister during 2004-08 and 2012-13, tweeted that “we do not fear tomorrow; we are looking forward to it.”
However, postelection negotiations could keep Jansa away from another term in office since other groups have suggested they were unwilling to form an alliance with him.
Runner-up Sarec reiterated Sunday that a coalition with Jansa was not an option and said he hoped his party would lead a future coalition government.
Jansa is an ally of Hungary’s anti-immigration prime minister, Viktor Orban. His election success mirrors the growth of right-wing populism in central and eastern Europe following a large influx of migrants from the Mideast and Africa.
A government led by Jansa would shift Slovenia to the right and add an anti-immigrant voice to the European Union.