POLLING stations for municipal elections in nearly 3,000 cities, towns and villages were closed at 20:00.
The first preliminary results will be published on the website of the Statistics Office (www.statistics.sk) or at www.volbysr.sk shortly after 21:00. There were 2,926 mayoral posts up for grabs, but there were three races that did not take place because there were no candidates.
Public interest in local elections has been gradually falling since the late 1990s. While in 1998 the turnout was 54 percent of registered voters, in 2002 it was only 49 percent, and just over 47 percent showed up at the polls in 2006. In 2010, the turnout was slightly higher: 49.69 percent.
Official results of the local elections are expected to be announced on Sunday.
The Slovak Spectator will post updated information about the results on its website.
