| 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) |
21 September 2008 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all the seats in the National Assembly on the normal expiry of the members' term of office. |
On 16 June 2008
President Danilo Türk signed a decree setting the date of elections to the National Assembly for 21 September.
In the previous elections held in October 2004
the conservative Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) and its partner
the New Slovenia Christian People's Party (NSi)
won a total of 38 seats
one more than the three parties in the outgoing centre left coalition government. The latter comprised the then Prime Minister Anton Rop's Liberal Democracy of Slovenia (LDS
which had governed since independence in 1991)
the Social Democrats (SD) and the Democratic Pensioners' Party (DeSUS). The National Assembly subsequently elected Mr. Janez Jansa (SDS) as the new Prime Minister. He formed a coalition government comprising the SDS
the NSi
the Slovenian People's Party (SLS) and the DeSUS.
The LDS experienced a series of splits after 2004. Prior to the 2007 presidential elections
some LDS members left to form the "For Real-New Politics" (ZARES) Party under the leadership of Mr. Janez Drnovsek. Former prime minister Rop
who resigned as LDS leader in 2005
joined the SD in 2007
along with other members. More members left the party following the election of Ms. Katarina Kresal as LDS leader.
In the run off presidential elections held in November 2007
Mr. Türk was elected as the country's third President. He was supported by the opposition parties the SD and ZARES as well as the DeSUS.
The country introduced the euro in January 2007. It enjoys economic growth of 5.5 per cent
although inflation hit 6.9 per cent in summer 2008
the highest in six years.
Nearly 1
200 candidates from 19 parties were vying for 88 seats in the National Assembly
two others being reserved for ethnic minorities. For the first time
there were no independent candidates. The quota for women candidates introduced in 2006 was applied for the first time. A transitional provision set a 25 per cent quota for 2008
increasing to 35 per cent women candidates in 2012. Approximately one third of the registered candidates were women. Five candidates registered for the seat reserved for the Hungarian minority
while four ran for the one reserved for the Italian minority.
The SD and the SDS in coalition with the NSi were the major parties in the 2008 election campaign. The DeSUS
led by the Minister of Defence
Mr. Karl Erjavec
declared that it would align itself with whichever party won the election. Mr. Bojan Srot's SLS formed a coalition with the Youth Party of Slovenia (SMS)
led by Mr. Darko Krajnc. The Slovenian National Party (SNS
six seats)
led by Mr. Zmago Jelincic
stood alone.
The main election issues were taxes
housing and border issues with Croatia.
Prime Minister Jansa promised to cut corporate taxes as well as income tax. He emphasized that the latter concerned both low and high income citizens. The SD criticized the SDS led government for failing to curb inflation. The SD leader promised to introduce tax relief for citizens earning the minimum wage
while applying a higher tax rate on luxury goods.
The SD and the SDS both pledged to create a fund to help young families interested in buying their first home. The SD promised to allocate 10 per cent of GDP to health care while reducing defence spending.
Slovenia and Croatia have had several disputes over their borders since they became independent States
in particular over the Bay of Piran (a small body of water in the northern Adriatic Sea some 20 square kilometers in size) which gives direct access to international waters. Prime Minister Jansa said his coalition would try to resolve the border issues before Croatia joined the European Union (EU). SD leader Pahor replied that border issues should not be a criterion for Croatia's accession and added that he would not seek a referendum on the issue.
The opinion polls in late August indicated strong support for the ruling coalition. In early September
however
the election campaign was rocked by allegations that the Prime Minister had received a share of a 21 million euro bribe from a Finnish firm over Slovenia's biggest defence contract in 2006. The Prime Minister denied these allegations calling them absurd.
A week before polling day
the SD
ZARES
and the LDS announced their intention to form a coalition government after the elections. Former president Milan Kucan endorsed the coalition plans.
63.1 per cent of 1.6 million registered voters turned out at the polls
up from 60.64 per cent recorded in 2004.
Seven parties surpassed the 4 per cent threshold to win parliamentary representation. The final results gave the opposition SD ZARES LDS coalition a total of 43 seats. The SDS came in second with 28 seats
but its partner
the NSi
failed to win any parliamentary representation.
Despite the quota
the number of women members increased only by one
bringing the total to 12. Only 41 outgoing members were re elected. Several veteran MPs
who had held their seats since the country gained independence in 1991
were voted out. Among the members of the outgoing government
only the Prime Minister and two ministers were returned to parliament.
On 15 October
the newly elected National Assembly held its first session and elected Mr. Pavel Gantar (ZARES) as its new Speaker.
On 3 November
President Türk nominated Mr. Pahor to become Prime Minister. On 7 November
the National Assembly elected Mr. Pahor as Prime Minister. Mr. Pahor's coalition government
comprising the SD
the ZARES
the LDS and the DeSUS
was sworn in on 21 November. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 21 September 2008 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
1'696'437
1'070'523 (63.1%)
1'051'827 |
|
Notes
|
The number of ballots cast was 1
070
424
of which 18
597 were invalidated. |
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% |
|
|
| Social Democrats |
|
320'248 |
|
|
30.45 |
|
|
| Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) |
|
307'735 |
|
|
29.26 |
|
|
| "For Real-New Politics" Party (ZARES) |
|
98'526 |
|
|
9.37 |
|
|
| Democratic Party of Pensioners of Slovenia (DeSUS) |
|
78'353 |
|
|
7.45 |
|
|
| Slovenian National Party (SNS) |
|
56'832 |
|
|
5.40 |
|
|
| Slovenian People's Party (SLS) - Youth Party of Slovenia (SMS) |
|
54'809 |
|
|
5.21 |
|
|
| Liberal Democracy of Slovenia (LDS) |
|
54'771 |
|
|
5.21 |
|
|
| Representatives of ethnic minorities |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
|
|
|
|
| Social Democrats |
29
|
|
|
|
|
| Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) |
28
|
|
|
|
|
| "For Real-New Politics" Party (ZARES) |
9
|
|
|
|
|
| Democratic Party of Pensioners of Slovenia (DeSUS) |
7
|
|
|
|
|
| Slovenian National Party (SNS) |
5
|
|
|
|
|
| Slovenian People's Party (SLS) - Youth Party of Slovenia (SMS) |
5
|
|
|
|
|
| Liberal Democracy of Slovenia (LDS) |
5
|
|
|
|
|
| Representatives of ethnic minorities |
2
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
78
12
13.33%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
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.
Distribution of seats according to age
Under 30 years: 1
30 to 39 years: 12
40 to 49 years: 27
50 to 59 years: 34
60 to 69 years: 14
Over 70 years: 2
Sources:
- National Assembly (02.10.2008
01.01.2010)
- http://volitve.gov.si/dz2008/en/index.html
- STA news agency |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
