Early voting breaks turnout records in Slovenia

Ljubljana, April 23 Early voting numbers in Slovenia's April 24 parliamentary election shattered records, the State Election Commission said.

A total of 130,151 people, or 7.67 per cent of all eligible voters, cast their ballots in the three-day early voting, the Commission added on its website on Friday. In 2018, turnout in early voting was only 3.1 per cent, Xinhua news agency reported.

Early voting was possible between Tuesday and Thursday this week for people who cannot cast their ballot at a voting station on election day. Analysts said the high number of early voters suggested that voter turnout on election day would be significantly higher than the 52.64 per cent registered in 2018.

Polls suggest a tight race between Prime Minister Janez Jansa's Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) and the Freedom Movement (FM), a new party headed by Manager Robert Golob.

Each of the two parties could win about 25 per cent of the vote with several other parties passing the four per cent threshold for parliamentary representation.

The new government is likely to be a coalition that would have to hold majority in the country's 90-seat Parliament.

Preliminary election results will be released late on Sunday.

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