Gregor Virant, the head of the coalition Citizens' List (DL), believes the second round will seal Pahor's victory. Social Democrats (SD) head Igor Lukšič said people made a good decision.

"It is obvious that most of the voters opted for a policy of dialogue and compromise rather than the policy of strict divisions between the left and the right political blocs," Virant said after exit polls showed Pahor in the lead at 41.9% ahead of incumbent Danilo Türk at 37.2% and Milan Zver at 20.9%.

Similarly, Lukšič, who succeeded Pahor as the head of the SD, said "Slovenia now needs the policy advocated by Borut Pahor".

He believes the election campaign revealed the differences among the candidates which made people's decision easier today. "People have made a good decision, opting for what I is believe is right," he said.

Virant also commented on the developments regarding the referendum initiatives. He said that the problem with initiating referendum proceedings on the bad bank act had been resolved and that enough signatures had been collected.

On Monday he will set a 35-day term in which the 40,000 signatures necessary to call the referendum must be collected.

During this time Finance Minister Janez Šušterič will strive to strike a deal with the unions to prevent the referendum, the speaker added.

He believes the outcome of today's election showed that Slovenians have had enough of battles between the left and the right and wanted more dialogue, cooperation and concessions.

"When Pahor wins in the second round, which I have no doubt he will, he as president will be able to contribute substantially to the soothing of these political disputes," Virant pointed out.