(Reuters) - Slovak opposition party SMER-SSD, led by former prime minister Robert Fico, held a narrowing lead over its liberal challenger Progresivne Slovensko ahead of a Sept. 30 election, according to IPSOS agency's final poll published on Wednesday.
The poll, conducted for news website www.dennikn.sk, surveyed 1,000 participants between Sept. 22 and Sept. 25, put support for SMER-SDD at 20.6% to 19.8% for Progresivne Slovensko (Progressive Slovakia - PS). PS jumped by 2.6 percentage points, while SMER-SSD rose by 0.3 percentage points from a poll taken between Sept. 15 and Sept. 19.
The poll showed eight parties would win seats in the parliament. However, none would secure a majority and would need to rely on partners to rule. How coalition building could develop was far from certain.
Slovaks head to the polls earlier than planned after a centre-right coalition government collapsed last year and a caretaker government took over in May.
Illegal migration and Slovakia's support for Ukraine have been among top issues for parties campaigning, with Fico looking to return his SMER-SSD party to power with pledges to defend national interests and end military support for Kyiv.
That would be a shift in policy that Progressive Slovakia leader Michal Simecka has warned could push the country into isolation. He has promised to maintain support for Ukraine as it fights a Russian invasion, in line with EU and NATO partners.
** Click here for an interactive graphic:
SMER-SSD HLAS Progresivne SaS OLANO-led Republika KDH SME SNS DEMOKRATI
Slovensko coalition RODINA
Sept 27 20.6 11.9 19.8 7.0 8.2 7.6 5.9 4.0 5.7 3.3
Sept 21 20.3 13.1 17.2 6.1 8.2 8.6 5.3 4.2 5.6 3.4
August 19.7 13.3 16.9 5.7 7.7 7.9 6.2 5.5 5.1 2.9
July/August 20.3 13.4 16.9 6.7 7.9 8.8 5.4 5.6 5.2 2.6
July 19.4 14.9 15.9 5.0 7.1 8.6 5.9 6.4 5.0 2.1
June 18.9 14.8 15.5 7.2 6.4 8.3 5.6 7.2 4.3 4.0
May 16.9 15.6 13.3 6.1 7.0 9.1 5.2 7.5 3.8 3.4
April 16.8 16.2 14.1 6.4 7.0 8.8 4.8 6.4 4.2 3.6
March 16.2 16.0 11.1 6.4 4.8 8.6 5.7 8.5 3.0
January 2023 13.6 18.2 12.6 6.9 8.1 8.1 6.5 8.0 2.9
November 15.6 19.7 10.4 7.8 8.0 6.0 7.4 7.0 2.6
NOTE: threshold for parties to win seats is 5% and 7% for coalitions
Party descriptions:
* SMER-SSD- Direction-Slovak Social Democracy (leftist party of three-time prime minister Robert Fico)
* HLAS- Voice (leftist party of former prime minister Peter Pellegrini who split from SMER)
* Progresivne Slovensko- Progressive Slovakia (liberal party)
* SaS-Sloboda a Solidarita- Freedom and Solidary (liberal former ruling party)
* OLANO- Ordinary People and Independent Personalities-OLANO (centrist, anti-graft former ruling party)
* Republika- Republic (far-right party)
* KDH- Christian Democrat Movement (Christian conservative party)
* SME RODINA- We Are Family (centrist former ruling party)
* SNS- Slovak National Party (nationalist party)
* DEMOKRATI- Democrats (centrist, pro-European party led by former prime minister Eduard Heger)