SPEECH - Slovakia Holds Parliamentary Elections

BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA - SEPTEMBER 30: (SPEECH) Lead candidate of Progressive Slovakia (PS) political party, Michal Simecka speaks to media at PS headquarters following the interim results that give PS a third place in Slovak parliamentary elections on September 30, 2023 in Bratislava, Slovakia. The election is mainly pitting the socially-liberal, pro-European Progressive Slovakia party, which was in second place in pre-election polls, against SMER, which was in first place in polls and whose lead candidate, former Slovak prime minister Robert Fico, has taken on a more pro-Russian, anti-European Union platform, including advocating an immediate halt to Slovak military aid to Ukraine. The elections are taking place following a breakdown of the governing coalition government last year. (Footage by Zuzana Gogova/Getty Images)