The Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) is projected to finish third with just under 10%.

The biggest surprise came from the United Left, which the exit polls suggest mustered 7.1% after last-minute opinion polls showed it was within reach of the 4% threshold for entering parliament.

The newcomer, which traces its roots to the anti-establishment protests of 2012-2013, is thus projected to trounce the party that has dominated the left for the past two decades: the Social Democrats (SD) got only 5.8%, its worst-ever result.

According to the exit polls, the only two parties that made the 4% threshold are the Christian democratic New Slovenia (NSi) with 5.4% and the Alliance of Alenka Bratušek (ZaAB) with 4.7%.

If the results hold up - previous exit polls have been very precise - this would mean that three parties currently in parliament did not make the 4% threshold: the People's Party (SLS), the Citizens' List (DL) and the Positive Slovenia (PS).

The survey was conducted on a sample 12,078 by pollster Mediana.