LJUBLJANA, Slovenia –
A liberal opposition party convincingly won Sunday’s parliamentary elections in Slovenia, according to the first official results, in a major defeat for populist Prime Minister Janez Jansa, who has been accused of pushing the small European Union country to the right while held the position.
The Movement for Freedom won nearly 34 percent of the vote, compared with around 24 percent for the conservative Slovenian Democratic Party, state election authorities said after counting more than 97 percent of the vote.
Behind the two main contenders was the New Slovenia party with 7 percent, followed by the Social Democrats with more than 6 percent and the Left party with 4 percent.
The results mean that the Freedom Movement, fresh off the ballot, appears poised to form the next government in a coalition with smaller left-wing groups. The party leader addressed his supporters via video message from his home because he has COVID-19.
“Tonight people dance,” Robert Golob told the cheering crowd at the party’s headquarters. “Tomorrow is a new day and there is a lot of work ahead.”
Jansa, an ally of Hungary’s right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban, congratulated the “relative winner” of the election in a speech.
“The results are what they are,” Jansa said, praising his government’s work. “There are many challenges ahead for the new government, whatever it looks like, but the foundations are solid.”
A veteran politician, Jansa became prime minister just over two years ago after the previous Liberal prime minister resigned. An admirer of former US President Donald Trump, Jansa had pushed the country towards right-wing populism since he took office at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reflecting the strong interest in Sunday’s election, turnout was higher than usual: around 67% of Slovenia’s 1.7 million voters cast their ballot, compared to 52% in the previous election in 2018. .
Golob, a US-educated former business executive, came out as the front-runner shortly after entering the political scene. The Freedom Movement party has advocated for a green energy transition and sustainable development over Jansa’s nation-centric narrative.
Liberals described Sunday’s election as a referendum on the future of Slovenia. They argued that Jansa, if he is re-elected, would push the traditionally moderate nation further away from the “core” democratic values of the EU and towards other populist regimes.
Opinion polls before the vote had predicted that the main parties would be locked in a close race.
Jansa’s SDS won the most votes in an election four years ago, but was initially unable to find partners for a coalition government. He took office after lawmakers from left-wing and centrist groups switched sides following the 2020 resignation of Liberal Prime Minister Marjan Sarec.
Jansa, in power, faced accusations of sliding into an Orban-style authoritarian government, drawing scrutiny from the EU amid reports that he pressured opponents and the public media, and installed loyalists in key positions for the government. control of state institutions.
The Freedom House democracy watchdog recently said that “while political rights and civil liberties are generally respected (in Slovenia), the current right-wing government has continued to attempt to undermine the rule of law and democratic institutions, including the media and the judiciary.
Reference-www.ctvnews.ca