Slovakia's leftist opposition, the Smer party led by Robert Fico, won Saturday's parliamentary elections, local media reported, quoting an exit poll from Bratislava.

The poll gave Smer 27.2 percent of the votes as Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda's Slovak Democratic and Christian Movement trailed on 19 percent.

Despite the win, Smer fell short of a majority in the parliament while Dzurinda and his possible allies garnered almost a total of 40 percent, a reality that, as analysts predicted, paved the way for a coalition government.

Economic reforms advanced by Dzurinda during his past two terms boosted the eastern European country's entry into NATO and the EU in 2004, as foreign investment flooded in and the economy chalked up a robust growth of 6.1 percent in 2005.

However, unemployment is riding high in the country's free- market economy and the gap between the rich and the poor is widening.

His biggest competitor, left-wing Smer-Socialist Democratic Party leader Robert Fico, has vowed to roll back many of Dzurinda's reforms and restore social benefits.

If final results turn out as the poll has indicated, Fico, 41, will have the first opportunity to form a coalition government. However, if he fails, Dzurinda may secure a third term by allying itself with his traditional partners.

Source: Xinhua