Sawt Falasteen - Slovenia liberals take narrow election lead over conservatives: exit poll

Golob, a political newcomer when he took over from Jansa in 2022, has been leading a centre-left coalition in the ex-Yugoslav nation, a European Union member of two million people.

Foreign interference claims shook the campaign, with authorities probing whether an Israeli company was behind secretly recorded videos suggesting alleged graft in Golob's government.

An exit poll released just after polling stations closed showed Golob's liberal party at 29.9 percent and the conservatives of veteran politician Jansa at 27.5 percent.

"We are not going to form weak governments... Those that want a government like the one we've had so far, as these results suggest, they can be happy," Jansa said at his party headquarters, adding he was awaiting the final results.

In opinion polls ahead of the vote, Jansa's conservatives had long been ahead of Golob's liberals, but the gap recently narrowed.

"These elections are important," Petra Kladnik, a 40-year-old lawyer, told AFP at a polling station in the capital, Ljubljana.

She added the video scandal "had a strong impact on the community but not on my decision today".

Under Golob, Slovenia legalised same-sex marriage and became one of the few EU countries to describe Israel's war in Gaza as "genocide".

- 'Sovereignty' -

Golob, 59, urged Slovenians to cast their ballots when he voted.

"Democracy and Slovenia's sovereignty cannot be taken for granted anymore," the former power company manager told reporters.

In his campaign, Jansa, 67, pledged to put Slovenians "at the forefront" and restore "Slovenian values" such as the "traditional family" and "close the pipe" of state money to NGOs deemed political parties.

"Slovenian voters have the power of their vote in their hands only today. And if this power is not used, Slovenia will slide backwards instead of catching up with developed Europe," he told reporters after casting his vote.

The last government of three-time premier Jansa -- an ally of nationalist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban -- saw mass protests and EU criticism over rule-of-law concerns.

Voting stations opened at 7:00 am local time (0600 GMT) and closed at 7:00 pm.

Tine Maher, 30, an AI and IT entrepreneur, told AFP at a Ljubljana polling station that he expected "a change of the government, it's really necessary. There have been many empty promises."

- 'Ugly' video scandal -

Ivana Prijatelj, a pensioner from Ljubljana, said she was "satisfied with how things are right now".

"Nothing is wrong now, at least for me," she told AFP at a polling station, adding she did not listen to the secretly recorded videos, saying the whole affair was "too ugly".

Golob this week asked the EU to probe alleged election interference following the publication of the videos.

The videos allegedly show the officials suggesting ways to influence decision makers in Golob's government to speed up procedures or win contracts.

A civil society group, together with an investigative journalist and two researchers, early this week accused Black Cube of being behind the videos and linked it to Jansa's party.

Jansa has admitted to having met a Black Cube official, but has denied being behind the videos.

Y.AlMasri--SF-PST