Slovak left-wing Smer party wins elections

"For us, the result is fantastic," said 41-year-old Fico. "I hope that we will succeed in forming a coalition government which will be able to push through a left-wing programme," he added.

The result puts Fico in pole position to form a coalition government, ending the eight years in power of Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda.

The former lawyer, who celebrated news of the victory early Sunday by singing Slovak folk songs at the party's headquarters, will command 50 seats in the 150-seat parliament against 31 for his nearest rival Dzurinda's Slovak Democratic and Christian Union.

Dzurinda's party obtained 18.35 percent of the vote in a poll marked by a low turnout of 54.6 percent, according to the results of the final count released by the Slovak Statistical Office on Sunday morning.

After eight years in power, Dzurinda was battling for a third term to continue reforms that have brought Slovakia strong economic growth -- at 6.1 percent the highest in central Europe -- but stubbornly high unemployment at 15.5 percent.

In third position with 11.73 percent was the extreme-right Slovak National Party, which is opposed to gypsies and the country's half-a-million strong Hungarian minority.

Just behind with 11.68 percent came Dzurinda's former coalition partner, the Hungarian Coalition Party, which champions the rights of the Hungarian minority.

The Movement for a Democratic Slovakia of former prime minister Vladimir Meciar - which topped the polls in previous elections in 2002 - slipped badly to 8.79 percent.