The anti-immigrant Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) has emerged as the largest party in Slovenia’s general election.
With nearly all votes counted SDS had 25% of the vote, officials said. The centre-left anti-establishment LMS party came second with 12.7%.
Analysts say SDS may find it difficult to form a coalition.
The poll was called in March after centre-left PM Miro Cerar quit amid strikes, coalition wrangling and a damaging Supreme Court ruling.
The SDS is led by former PM Janez Jansa, who has been a vocal supporter of Hungary’s nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Janša acknowledged any post-election negotiations would be difficult. “We will probably have to wait for some time … before serious talks on a new government will be possible,” he told reporters after he cast his own vote.
Voters in a number of eastern member states of the European Union – notably Hungary and Poland – have turned to parties that oppose the bloc’s plans for countries to accept asylum seekers under a quota system.
The SDS, supported by Hungary’s nationalist prime minister Viktor Orbán, is firmly opposed to such quotas and said most of the money used to support them should be diverted to the security forces.
“[Our] party puts Slovenia, Slovenians first,” Janša said after preliminary results came out, adding that the SDS is ready for coalition talks with all other parliamentary parties. “We are open for cooperation, Slovenia is facing times which need cooperation,” he said.
Janša, who was prime minister from 2004 to 2008 and from 2012 to 2013, had said he would cut taxes and speed up privatisation.