Progresívne Slovensko leader Michal Šimečka talks to journalists on September 30, 2023. (source: SITA - Diana Cernak)
Seven political parties may get into parliament, the Focus exit poll for TV Markíza shows.
Progresívne Slovensko, a liberal party led by MEP Michal Šimečka, came first in the poll. It received 23.5 percent. Smer, a populist party led by former three-time PM Robert Fico, came second in the poll with 21.9 percent.
The left-wing party Hlas, the populist conservative coalition party OĽaNO-KÚ-ZĽ, the liberal party SaS, the far-right party Republika and the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) would also win parliamentary seats, getting over a 5-percent threshold (7 percent in the case of OĽaNO-KÚ-ZĽ).
The populist party Sme Rodina, which currently holds seats in parliament, may stay out of the parliament after this year's election. In the exit poll, it received 2.3 percent. In recent weeks, the party has been falling in public opinion polls.
The ultranationalist Slovak National Party (SNS) would not win any seats, either. It received 4.4. percent in the Focus exit poll. The SNS has been growing in recent polls, often jumping over the required threshold.
The Focus exit poll was published shortly after 22:00. Due to the election moratorium, the results were published as “blind” - without the names of political parties.
Focus approached 20,000 people right after they cast their vote.
Smer would not form a government
The exit poll also shows that Smer would not be able to form a government. Its partner, Hlas, rejects to be in a coalition with Republika. Even if these parties joined forces, they would not reach the majority of 76 MPs.
Progresívne Slovensko could form a government with SaS, OĽaNO, and KDH, but it would only control 77 seats in the house. If OĽaNO were replaced with Hlas in the PS-led coalition, such a coalition government would have 85 seats in the parliament.
PS wins in second exit poll, too
The second exit poll, published by the public broadcaster RTVS, shows that Progresívne Slovensko came first in this poll as well. Smer came second.
According to this poll, eight parties would make it to parliament, by one more compared to the Focus exit poll. Unlike the SNS, Sme Rodina (3.3 percent) would not be among these parties.
PS and Smer would both struggle to form a coalition government.
The poll for RTVS was conducted by the Median SK agency, surveying 16,805 voters on September 30.
