* Exit polls show centre-right beats PM Fico by wide margin
* Fico says he is victim of dirty tricks campaign
* Budget, Hungary, corruption dominate vote
(Adds exit polls)
By Martin Santa and Jan Lopatka
BRATISLAVA, June 12 (Reuters) - Slovak centre-right parties
looked set to win a big majority in Saturday's election, exit
polls showed, raising hopes for a coalition that could cut the
budget deficit and improve strained ties with neighbour Hungary.
Exit polls by two private television stations showed five
opposition parties had won 89-91 seats in the 150-seat
parliament, ending the dominance of leftist Prime Minister
Robert Fico's three-party cabinet.
Fico's SMER won 28.0-29.7 percent of the vote and remains
the biggest party, ahead of the largest opposition group, the
Christian Democrat SDKU, with 15.8-18.1 percent, according to
the MVK and Focus surveys.
Actual results were due to start coming in early on Sunday
and final results later in the day.
With some parties close to the 5 percent threshold needed to
win seats, the actual result may vary marginally from exit polls
but the opposition looked to have won so convincingly that a
major difference would be needed to change the overall balance.
Richard Sulik, head of the newly formed liberal Freedom and
Solidarity (SaS) opposition party, said he was ready to join
other opposition parties to form a cabinet, no matter how many
parties had to be included.
"Any mash-up is better than Fico," he said.
Business and the opposition accuse Fico, whose popularity
was driven by a generous welfare agenda, of wasting public funds
and polarising politics with a confrontational style.
Mainstream media, which Fico says are biased, have endorsed
right-wing parties and called for a return to the type of reform
that made Slovakia the EU's fastest-growing member in 2007.
Fico has remained by far the most popular politician in the
euro zone's poorest country with tough leadership that favours
average Slovaks over big businesses, drawing support mainly
among poorer and older voters.
In the Czech Republic, Fico's close ally, Social Democrat
Jiri Paroubek, won the most votes in an election two weeks ago
but three centre-right parties gained a majority.
EASING OF TENSIONS
SDKU hopes to form a coalition with the Christian Democrats
(KDH), the SaS, and two ethnic Hungarian parties.
Analysts say such a grouping might be better placed to cut a
budget deficit that hit 6.8 percent of gross domestic product
last year to a target of 3 percent in 2012, to fight corruption
and to improve frosty relations with Hungary, strained further
over the rights of Slovakia's half million Hungarian minority.
Ties with Hungary deteriorated further after the far-right
Slovak National Party joined Fico's government in 2006 and after
right-winger Viktor Orban won an election in Hungary in April on
a ticket that included fighting for the rights of Hungarian
minorities abroad.
Slovakia's export-reliant economy, which shrank by 4.7
percent last year, has started recovering and the EU forecasts
2.7 percent growth this year, the bloc's fastest along with
Poland.
Slovaks adopted the euro in 2009 and with living standards
at just 72 percent of the EU average, have questioned whether
they should help richer debt-laden euro zone countries such as
Greece.
The SDKU and SaS have said that if they won power they would
refuse to pay Slovakia's 800-million-euro share of the EU
bailout of Greece.
SMER fell back in opinion polls this week after Slovak media
published a tape recording suggesting it had received illegal
funding in the 2002 election campaign.
SMER has denied claims that it had not accounted for some of
its funding in 2002 and accused rivals of illegal smear tactics.
Opposition parties have denied the accusations.
Former prime minister and SDKU chief Mikulas Dzurinda pulled
out of the election in February over accusation of money
laundering. Like Fico, he has denied breaking any law.
The exit polls also showed the HZDS party of former Prime
Minister Vladimir Meciar, whose policies took the country into
international isolation in the 1990s, would not win any seats.
(Editing by Louise Ireland)
