Voting begins for early parliamentary election in Slovakia

By Askin Kiyagan

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AA) – People line up to vote in early parliamentary elections in Slovakia that began at 7 a.m. local time (05:00 GMT) on Saturday.

Approximately 4.4 million voters over the age of 18 are eligible to vote until 10 p.m. local time (2000GMT) to determine the new members of the 150-seat parliament.

A total of 25 large and small parties and alliances are participating in the election, of which parties above the 7% threshold will enter the National Council of the Slovak Republic.

Parliamentary elections are being held for the ninth time in the country, which declared independence from the Czech Republic in 1993.

Some 185,000 voters between the ages of 18 and 21 are casting their ballots for the first time.

According to public opinion polls, former Prime Minister Robert Fico's Social Democratic Party is likely to finish the race ahead of its rivals by a narrow margin.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar