People in several European countries are casting their votes on the third day of polling ahead of the final and biggest stage of voting on Sunday.
Voters in Slovakia, Italy and other European Union countries will head to polling stations on Saturday to elect their representatives in the European Parliament.
On the third day of the election, Slovakia votes under the shadow of an assassination attempt on populist Prime Minister Robert Fico on May 15.
The nation of 5.4 million people is choosing between representatives of Fico's Smer party, the main party in the current governing coalition, and the main opposition, Progressive Slovakia, a pro-Western liberal party.
Fico issued his first public statement since the attack in the form of a pre-recorded video just hours before the start of the pre-election silence period on Wednesday, arguing that he was attacked because of his divergent views from the European mainstream.
He opposes support for Ukraine against the Russian invasion and ended military support for Slovakia after taking the oath of office on October 25. He also opposes EU sanctions on Russia and wants to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO.
Also on Saturday, voters in Italy will begin casting their ballots over two days to fill a sizeable 76 seats in the European parliament, which could help shape its future direction.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her far-right Brothers of Italy are expected to be the big winners, beating coalition partners such as the anti-immigrant League and the centre-right Forza Italia.
His support could affect Ursula von der Leyen's chance of winning a second term at the head of the European Commission, with a possible alliance on the horizon. Meloni has also been courted by French far-right leader Marine Le Pen in hopes of creating a far-right alliance.
Leila Simona Talani, director of the Center for Italian Politics at King's College London, told Al Jazeera that anti-immigration policies are a major driver of the far right in elections, but not the only one.
“One of the reasons is the war in Ukraine and there is a lot of polarization between the parties about whether or not we should continue this effort to support Ukraine,” he said.
“My impression is not that the entire European Parliament is moving to the right. “I don’t even think the majority is moving to the right, but they are getting more votes.”
Voters in Latvia, Malta and the Czech Republic will also vote on Saturday. Final results from the 720-seat European Parliament are not expected until Sunday evening, when all countries have voted.
Sunday's fourth and final day of voting will also be the most important, with citizens from 20 of the bloc's 27 members, including voters from Germany, France and Poland, heading to the polls.
Seats are allocated based on population, from six in Malta or Luxembourg to 96 in Germany. Nearly 370 million Europeans have the right to vote to send representatives to the only directly elected EU institution that has the power to block legislation.
