General elections in Slovenia expected to be very close

LJUBLJANA (AFP) - Slovenians were voting in general elections that may force the centre-left coalition that has ruled the former Yugoslav state for over a decade to form an alliance with the right-wing opposition.
With voting expected to be very close, the main party in government, the Liberal Democracy (LDS) party, is ready to consider forming a coalition with current opposition rivals to remain in power, Prime Minister and LDS leader Anton Rop made clear as he wrapped up campaigning Friday.
"We expect to win a relative victory on Sunday that will enable us to build a stable coalition government," Rop said.
"Let us surprise you," Rop said, when asked about chances of a coalition with his party's main rival, the opposition centre-right Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS), expected to do well Sunday.
Over 20 parties, eight of them represented in parliament, will be fighting for 90 seats in the legislature, in the first national election in the tiny Alpine state of only 1.6 million registered voters since it joined the European Union last May.
Polls opened Sunday at 7:00 am (0500 GMT) and close at 7:00 pm (1700 GMT). Exit poll projections are expected immediately after the closure of polls.
The country's electoral commission is expected to publish first partial results after 10:00 pm (2000 GMT).
Opinion polls forecast a turnout of over 70 percent compared to 28 percent registered in European parliament elections in June and predict a tight race.
Voter turnout is expected to be crucial -- the opposition fared well in European parliamentary elections in June when participation was low.
"It would be very hard to forecast a winner. All scenarios are possible," Miha Kovac, columnist for the newspaper Dnevnik, told AFP.
A poll by the influential newspaper Delo predicted the opposition SDS would win the most votes, with 21.5 percent, followed by the LDS with 21.3 percent.
This was with a projected turnout of around 74 percent.
The future parliament is expected to have two, almost equal blocs, which will make decision-making more complicated than in the outgoing legislature, where the LDS and its allies control 58 seats out of 90.
Public opinion in Slovenia has been moving to the right over the past year-and-a-half, with people weary of almost 12 years of LDS rule, Kovac said.
SDS leader Janez Jansa's campaign was centered this year on blaming the LDS for failing to deliver on promises it made in 2000, especially those concerning economic growth, highway construction and increase of pensions.
"Over the last four years the LDS has made five fouls (as in basketball) and it is time for voters to replace it as in every fair-play game," Jansa said at a rally in Ljubljana on Wednesday, wrapping up his campaign.
But Rop has defended his record, saying that the cabinet he took over from Drnovsek in 2002 led the country into the EU and NATO, started the process for entering the eurozone by 2007, reduced unemployment and is on its way to making Slovenia one of the EU's most developed countries.
The Slovenian Journalists' Union (SNS) is to launch a limited strike Sunday to call for a new collective agreement for journalists.
But the strike will not prevent journalists from publishing reports on the elections.