Ljubljana - A blackout period set in on Saturday prior to the general election on Sunday. All political propaganda designed to convince voters to back any party or candidate is banned until polls close at 7pm on Sunday.

During the blackout, it is prohibited to publish ads or other forms of political propaganda whose purpose would be to influence voters, be it in the media, on billboards or in the form of political rallies.

The Interior Ministry has set up a special emergency phone number where citizens can call in and report any possible violations of the blackout, standard procedure in all elections and referendums in Slovenia.

Dozens of cases of violations of the blackout are reported each election cycle, but most of them are minor and the vast majority turn out to be unwarranted.

Violations of the ban on electioneering are subject to fines ranging from 150 to 3,000 euro.

Roughly 1.7 million citizens will be eligible to cast their vote in the election.