Slovakia, Italy vote in European Union elections
Al Jazeera
People in multiple European countries are casting ballots on third day of polls before last and biggest stage of voting on Sunday.
Voters in Slovakia, Italy and other countries in the European Union are heading to polling stations on Saturday to elect their representatives in the European Parliament.
On the third day of the elections, Slovakia is casting its votes under the shadow of an assassination attempt on populist Prime Minister Robert Fico on May 15.
The nation of 5.4 million is choosing between representatives of Fico’s Smer party – the top party in the incumbent governing coalition – and the main opposition Progressive Slovakia, a pro-Western liberal party.
Fico released his first public statement since the attack in the form of a pre-recorded video just hours before the start of the pre-election silence period on Wednesday, arguing that he was attacked due to his divergent views from the European mainstream.
He opposes support for Ukraine against the Russian invasion and ended Slovakia’s military support after being sworn in on October 25. He also opposes EU sanctions on Russia and wants to block Ukraine from joining NATO.
