SLOVAKIA: Voters in Slovakia began casting ballots in a two-day election seen as crucial to the central European country's bid to join the European Union and NATO.
While 24 parties are vying for seats in the 150-member parliament, at issue is whether the former prime minister, Mr Vladimir Meciar, and his Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) will succeed in making a comeback, despite United States and European opposition.
Mr Meciar, who led Slovakia to independence and was prime minister from 1994 to 1998, has been criticised by the US and EU countries for failing to "demonstrate a commitment to democracy and the rule of law," according to the US ambassador to NATO, Mr Nicholas Burns.
The man favoured to become prime minister, Mr Robert Fico of the Smer (The Way) party, said in casting his vote precisely as polls opened at 2 p.m. that it was an "absolute priority" for Slovakia to win "not only EU but also membership in NATO".
"This is the absolute international and foreign policy priority of Slovakia and Smer," Mr Fico, a 38-year-old lawyer, told journalists at a polling station set up in a school on the outskirts of Bratislava.
Mr Fico enjoys support from the US and the EU as a young pro-western reformer who will steer the country towards integration with Europe, although he has criticised EU policy on agriculture and energy and is considered by some to be a nationalist.
Speaking in English to foreign journalists, Mr Fico said it would be "fantastic" for Slovakia to have a "coalition which will consist of three or four political parties, not more".
While a record of 2,596 candidates from 24 parties and political groups are standing for election to the 150-seat parliament, only about 10 parties are expected to garner the 5 per cent of votes needed to win entry into parliament.
It is Slovakia's third parliamentary election since 1993, when the country became independent during the peaceful break-up of former Czechoslovakia, following the collapse of communism and the Soviet bloc. First official results will not be published until tomorrow. Television estimates may show the result earlier.
A political analyst, Mr Grigorij Meseznikov, said in Bratislava ahead of the vote that "things have changed in Slovakia. People see the inclusion of Slovakia in the European Union as the main precondition for improvement in their living conditions." Since the previous elections in 1998 Slovakia has achieved a certain political stability under the outgoing Prime Minister, Mr Mikulas Dzurinda.
But the economic situation is dire. Unemployment is at 19 per cent and budget deficits persist.
Mr Fico told the Slovak Spectator newspaper that a key part of his Smer party's platform was simply "no Meciar". But Mr Meciar (60), a former boxer, a nationalist and an authoritarian whose erratic behaviour has included coming to blows with journalists, believes he can make a comeback.