Slovakia votes in elections with direct repercussions on aid to its neighbor Ukraine

Slovaks voted this Saturday in legislative elections that will determine the country's foreign policy, including a possible curb on support for neighboring Ukraine, one of the main issues of the campaign. The vote, in this Central European nation of 5.4 million inhabitants, a member of the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), will end at 10 p.m. (6 p.m. in Argentina) and the results will be released immediately. exit polls, while the final results will be known this Sunday, the AFP news agency reported. The contest will be defined between the Smer-SD party of former Prime Minister Robert Fico (2006-2010 and 2012-2018) and the Progressive Slovakia formation of Michal Simecka, vice president of the European Parliament. The winner will need the support of other smaller parties to achieve a majority in Congress, which consists of 150 seats. The resulting government will replace the center-right coalition cabinet that has been in power since 2020. The candidates present completely opposite proposals. In the campaign, the social democrat Fico attacked both the EU and NATO and the LGBTIQ+ minority. Likewise, he was opposed to continuing to provide military aid to Ukraine, which has been fighting against the escalating Russian invasion since February 2022. Slovakia is the first NATO member to deliver combat aircraft to Kiev, Soviet-designed MiGs. Simecka, on the other hand, proposed exactly the opposite, promising to get rid of the Slovakia of the "past", referring to Robert Fico's two terms as prime minister.

• 04/10/2023 • 18:36