(11 Nov 2012)
1. Wide of woman entering polling station
2. Various of woman registering to vote, walking over to polling both
3. Close up of polling booth
4. Wide of woman casting ballot
5. Two men registering to vote
6. Close up of man signing documents
7. Wide of man casting ballot
8. Mid of another man casting ballot
9. Woman voting
10. Woman casting ballot
11. SOUNDBITE (Slovenian) Dragica Osterc, voter:
"I'm happy with (incumbent president Danilo) Turk. He has been a good president and I think he represented us well. I think he should be president again."
12. Woman casting ballot
13. Man and woman registering, going off to vote
14. Woman casting ballot
15. SOUNDBITE (Slovenian) Miro Pogavc, voter:
"I think it will be better. Less fighting amongst us, and a better life. That's my opinion."
16. Man registering
17. Man casting ballot
STORYLINE:
Polls opened across Slovenia on Sunday for presidential elections amid deep political divisions and economic crisis.
Three candidates are vying for the presidency this weekend in the economically troubled European Union country where recession, political uncertainty and a banking crisis have threatened efforts at reforms needed to avoid a possible bailout.
Incumbent president Danilo Turk has been leading the polls, followed by former prime minister Borut Pahor and the ruling, centre-right coalition candidate Milan Zver.
Although the presidency is a largely ceremonial post in Slovenia, the elected president commands considerable political authority and influence in the Alpine nation, which faces one of the worst recessions in the 17-country group that uses the euro.
The president also heads the army and proposes the central bank chief at the time when Slovenia is battling a crisis in the banking system created by rampant lending by state-controlled banks.
No one is expected to win an outright majority so a second round of voting is likely on December 2 between the two leading candidates.
One voter, Dragica Osterc said on Sunday morning that she was "happy with (incumbent president Danilo) Turk. He has been a good president and I think he represented us well. I think he should be president again".
Slovenia suffered severe recession in 2009 with the economy shrinking more than eight percent.
It has continued to decline, resulting in a sharp drop in exports and living standards and a surge in unemployment, which now stands about 12 percent.
Bad bank loans have surged to some six (b) billion, a significant figure compared to the country's gross domestic product of about 35 (b) billion.
Slovenia's borrowing costs on its government bonds reached seven percent this summer - a threshold that earlier prompted Greece, Ireland and Portugal to seek financial support from the EU.
Turk and Pahor have both been critical of the government of Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, who also faces strong opposition in parliament to his anti-crisis measures.
Jansa's bid to recapitalise the nation's banks and create a so-called wealth fund that would manage state-owned property has been met with demands for a referendum, a move that he says would force the country to seek a bailout by year's end.
Pahor was ousted from power last year (2011), when his government fell over the economic crisis and allegations of corruption, paving the way for an early election last December.
The 49-year-old centre-left politician has admitted his government had underestimated the scope of the global crisis, and has
supported some of the austerity measures proposed by his successor.
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