Opposition wins Slovenia vote, defeating right-wing populist

By ALI ZERDIN
Associated Press

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) — Early official results from Sunday’s parliamentary election in Slovenia show that an opposition liberal party convincingly won, in a major defeat for populist Prime Minister Janez Jansa, who was accused of pushing the small European Union country to the right while in office. After counting over 97% of ballots, state election authorities says the Freedom Movement won nearly 34% of the votes, compared around 24% for the governing conservative Slovenian Democratic Party, The results mean that the Freedom Movement, a newcomer in the election, appears set to form the next government in a coalition with smaller leftist groups.