Slovak PM signals he could stay in power

BRATISLAVA, June 18 (Reuters) Slovak Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda signalled today he and his centre-right allies were in a strong position to stay in power even though the leftist Smer party won the most votes in weekend elections.

Dzurinda called on the Ethnic Hungarian Party and the Christian Democrats to stick together with him. Preliminary results showed Smer won 29.2 percent of votes while the combined tally for the centre-right parties was more than 38 percent.

''We have quite a strong position together and I hope our cooperation will be effective and productive because in that case our chance for political continuity (in government) will grow,'' he said.

Reuters CH GC1048