| Parliament name |
- |
| Structure of parliament |
Bicameral |
| Chamber name (generic / translated) |
Drzavni Zbor / National Assembly |
| Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) |
Drzavni Svet / National Council
|
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
4 December 2011 |
| Timing and scope of renewal |
Elections were held for all the seats in the National Assembly following early dissolution of this body on 21 October 2011. Elections to the National Assembly had previously taken place in September 2008. |
The December 2011 elections followed the adoption of a no-confidence vote against the Prime Minister in September 2011. They were the first early elections to be held since the country gained independence in 1991.
In the previous elections held in September 2008, the opposition coalition comprising the Social Democrats (SD), "For Real-New Politics" (ZARES) Party, and the Liberal Democracy of Slovenia (LDS) took a total of 43 seats in the 90-member National Assembly. Prime Minister Janez Jansa's Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) took 28 seats, while its partner, the New Slovenia Christian People's Party (NSi), failed to win any seats. The remainder went to small parties. The following month, the National Assembly elected Mr. Pavel Gantar (ZARES) as its new Speaker. In November, it elected Mr. Borut Pahor (SD) as the new Prime Minister. He formed a coalition government comprising the SD, ZARES, the LDS and the Democratic Party of Pensioners of Slovenia (DeSUS, seven seats).
The global economic crisis, which started in 2008, severely affected the country's economy. By the end of 2010, the public debt had reached 13.6 billion euros, or 37.9 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). The economy was further damaged by the euro zone crisis in 2011. The Prime Minister announced a series of reforms, including pension reform, which would have raised the retirement age of both men and women to 65 (instead of 63 years for men and 56 years and eight months for women). In April, DeSUS announced that it would leave the coalition government in protest against the pension reform. Several ministers from DeSUS and ZARES withdrew from the coalition in April and in May.
On 3 June, the country held three referenda, including one on the pension reform proposal. All three were rejected (see note). ZARES leader Gregor Golobic called for the Prime Minister to step down. On 28 June, the three remaining ZARES ministers resigned, effectively sealing the party's withdrawal from the government. Speaker Gantar (ZARES) also resigned and was succeeded by Mr. Ljubo Germic (LDS). The Prime Minister was thus left with a minority government comprising only the SD and the LDS.
In September, the opposition SDS accused the government of corruption and mishandling the economy and tabled a vote of no-confidence against Prime Minister Pahor. The move came at a time when the National Assembly was due to vote on the European Financial Stability Facility (an EU fund to rescue debt-strapped countries in the euro zone), which needed to be ratified by all EU Member States to be implemented. The Prime Minister urged the National Assembly to back his minority cabinet rather than opt for early elections in the midst of the European financial crisis. He argued that Slovenia would stand to lose more if it plunged into a political crisis. The no-confidence vote was adopted on 20 September, making Mr. Pahor the third prime minister to be ousted in such a vote since 1991.
Although President Danilo Türk (independent) held several consultations with parliamentary parties, no party nominated a candidate to replace the Prime Minister. Under the Slovenian Constitution, early elections must be held if a new Prime Minister-designate is not appointed within 30 days. On 21 October, President Türk dissolved the National Assembly and called elections for 4 December, nine months earlier than they were constitutionally due.
In all, 1,376 candidates representing 21 party lists stood for the 2011 elections. Major contenders included the SD, the SDS, as well as two new parties formed in October 2011: the Zoran Jankovic List-Positive Slovenija of the Mayor of the capital Ljubljana; and the Citizen's Alliance, led by former Public Administration Minister Gregor Virant.
Mr. Pahor (SD) said that his government had paved the way for the country's development over the past three years. He called on voters' support for the SD, stating that it would offer the necessary vision, wisdom and experience.
Mr. Jansa's SDS promised to promote the timber industry and tourism to boost the economy and create jobs. It would also increase funds for research and development to 3 per cent of GDP by 2015.
Mayor Jankovic said his Positive Slovenija would be the guarantee of an "economically healthy" State and pledged to look after those who had the lowest pensions and wages.
Mr. Gregor Virant said his Citizen's Alliance was the choice for all citizens who were tired of left-right divisions. It campaigned with a slate of ministerial candidates, pledging to make the next government a "cabinet of experts".
On the Slovenian troops in Afghanistan - about 90 troops deployed as at December 2011 - Mr. Jankovic List's Positive Slovenija said it would withdraw them in its first year of government. Among the major parties, the SD and SDS were also in favour of the withdrawal but did not set a specific timeline. They underscored that the withdrawal needed to be executed in agreement with the allied forces. The Citizen's Alliance did not make its position on the issue clear.
In all, 65.60 per cent of the 1.5 million registered voters turned out at the polls.
The final results gave a surprise victory to the two-month-old Positive Slovenija. It won 28 seats, two more than the SDS. Outgoing Prime Minister Pahor's SD took 10 seats while the Citizen's Alliance took eight. In all, 29 women were elected.
On 21 December, the newly elected National Assembly held its first session and elected Mr. Gregor Virant (Citizen's Alliance) as its new Speaker.
On 4 January 2012, President Türk nominated Mr. Jankovic as Prime Minister. The Prime Minister-designate needs to win a majority vote in the National Assembly before the President's nomination can take effect. On 11 January, the National Assembly rejected the candidature.
Under the Slovenian Constitution, a group of minimum of ten parliamentarians may propose a Prime Minister and the majority vote in the National Assembly may confirm his/her nomination even if the President does not back the premiership candidate. On 25 January, former Prime Minister Jansa (SDS) announced that he had received a backing of five centre-right parties to form a new government. President Türk argued that Mr. Jansa lacked a legitimacy to form a government, referring to unresolved corruption charges related to the latter's first premiership.
On 28 January, the National Assembly elected former Prime Minister Jansa (SDS) as the new Prime Minister. He subsequently formed a coalition government comprising his SDS, the Citizen's Alliance, DeSUS (six seats), the Slovene People's Party (SLS, six seats) and the New Slovenia-Christian People's Party (NSi-KLS, four seats).
Note:
The two other items rejected in the June 2011 referenda were the opening of historical archives of the Yugoslav secret police and a law prohibiting illicit work. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 4 December 2011 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
1'709'692
1'121'573 (65.6%)
|
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% of votes |
|
|
| Zoran Jankovic List - Positive Slovenija |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Social Democrats |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Citizen's alliance of Gregor Virant |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Democratic Party of Pensioners of Slovenia (DeSUS) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Slovene People's Party (SLS) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| New Slovenia - Christian People's Party (NSi-KLS) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Representatives of ethnic minorities |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total of seats
|
|
|
|
|
| Zoran Jankovic List - Positive Slovenija |
28
|
|
|
|
|
| Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) |
26
|
|
|
|
|
| Social Democrats |
10
|
|
|
|
|
| Citizen's alliance of Gregor Virant |
8
|
|
|
|
|
| Democratic Party of Pensioners of Slovenia (DeSUS) |
6
|
|
|
|
|
| Slovene People's Party (SLS) |
6
|
|
|
|
|
| New Slovenia - Christian People's Party (NSi-KLS) |
4
|
|
|
|
|
| Representatives of ethnic minorities |
2
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
61
29
32.22%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
|
| Comments |
Sources:
National Assembly (19.12.2011, 22.12.2011)
http://volitve.gov.si/dz2011/en/
Note on the distribution of seats:
The "Representatives of ethnic minorities" refers to members representing Slovenia's Italian and Hungarian communities, who are elected in separate elections. |
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