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Roundup: Slovakia braces for crucial general election

Xinhua, March 4, 2016 Adjust font size:

The upcoming general election in Slovakia on March 5 has been described by leaders and experts as the most important in a decade.

The next four years ahead will represent a crucial period for Europe and the world. And with Slovakia to hold the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of 2016, the country will have to play its part in shaping the EU's response to several challenges.

"Slovakia will be face and voice of the EU and may have responsibility for issues like Greece's financial crisis, a potential Brexit and security threats connected to migration and the situation in Ukraine and Syria," Slovak President Andrej Kiska said.

"Therefore, the policies of the new Slovak government will be important to the whole EU," he added.

Migration is a hot-button election issue although the number of applications for asylum in Slovakia has continued to decrease over the past three years.

Prime Minister Robert Fico, also chairman of the governing political party Smer-SD, rejects mandatory quotas to redistribute refugees across Europe. His government is attempting to sue the European Commission for imposing this requirement.

However, on the domestic front, nurses and teachers have recently carried out major protests to highlight weaknesses in the healthcare and education system.

For Siet, the biggest opposition party established in 2014, the strategic aim is to lead a broader center-right coalition as an alternative against Smer-SD.

The most important factor influencing the result of the election is voter turnout. The smallest ever turnout was in 2006 at 54.7 percent, from which a coalition of Smer-SD, LS-HZDS and Slovak National Party arose.

Other elections show rightist parties made it into government when there were higher turnouts. In 1998, the turnout was 84.2 percent, while in 2002 it was 70.1 percent. Poll agencies estimate that the turnout in the upcoming election will be 52-60 percent.

According to sociologist Martin Slosiarik from Focus Agency, first-time voters do not consider the 2016 general election to be groundbreaking and are thus reluctant to participate.

A total of 22 political parties, movements and coalitions are running in Saturday's election. This will be the ninth election to take place in Slovakia since 1989. Enditem