Slovakia votes in parliamentary elections on Saturday that are widely expected to unseat the scandal-hit center-left government and open the race for the top job to both liberals and far-right groups.

Public outrage against the Smer-Social Democracy (Smer-SD) party has been on the rise over corruption claims in the eurozone country.

Matters came to a head in 2018 after the gangland-style murder of a journalist. The killing of Jan Kuciak and his fiance Martina Kusnirova, triggered unprecedented anti-government protests, the largest in 30 years.

It compelled prime minister Robert Fico to hand over the reins to his colleague Peter Pellegrini.

"People want change, especially an anti-corruption drive," said political analyst Grigorij Meseznikov. "The murder of Jan Kuciak has reconfigured the entire political scene, as new liberal-democratic parties emerged and immediately gained support."

Hard-hit by the fallout of the murder of the 27-year-old reporter, the Smer-SD is running neck-and-neck with the Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OLaNO), a center-right party that has declared a war on graft.

Led by eccentric MP and millionaire Igor Matovic, 46, the OLaNO has had a significant surge in popularity and could potentially grab power, provided it manages to bring together a splintered opposition.

Anger against the governing party has also brought far-right parties to the fore, including the People's Party-Our Slovakia (LSNS).

Despite Fico rejecting a post-election coalition deal with the LSNS, the two adversaries recently joined hands to pass a pension reform bill.

The LSNS has former regional governor Marian Kotleba, 42, at the helm. Notorious for having previously organized street marches donning a black uniform, the former regional governor has been buttressing his anti-establishment image amid a backlash against an impoverished Roma minority.

Martin Belusky, an LSNS MP, told CGTN Europe's Aljosa Milenkovic: "We have to stop and abolish the positive discrimination, which at this time is focused on this particular ethnicity."

But regardless of the LSNS's growing clout, analysts such as Michaela Mudronova, from the People In Need NGO, claimed there was no cause for alarm.

"I wouldn't say that this political party represents the major opinion of the Slovak nation towards Romas. I can't agree with it, but I can say that, of course, some Romas are getting a little bit scared of this party."

On the eve of the election, Slovak PM Pellegrini, from the SMER party, gave a televised address in which he expressed willingness to send Slovak police and troops to the southern Schengen (EU) border to help deal with any migrant influx, because of the situation in Syria. 

Some in Slovakia say the statement was provoked by the ruling party's fear of the rising power of the populists, and they see it as a last-minute attempt to win over at least some of the populist votes.

Whether this tactic works will be known by Sunday early morning, when the first official results are expected.

Voting stations will be open from 07:00 (06:00 GMT) until 22:00 (21:00 GMT) on Saturday. More than 4.4 million people are eligible to cast their votes at these elections, and according to some projections, a record turnout is expected.

Just another example of how crucial these elections are perceived to be by Slovaks.

Remember to sign up to Global Business Daily here to get our top headlines direct to your inbox every weekday