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Election Date: October 8, 2008

At stake: State Chamber

Note: This election date is tentative. The election tracker for Slovenia will be updated as more information becomes available.

Background

Slovenia joined the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1918, following the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after World War I. The Kingdom was renamed Yugoslavia in 1929. Slovenia—occupied by German and Italian forces during World War II—remained a Yugoslav republic until its independence in 1991.

Slovenia—the most affluent and politically liberated region of the former Yugoslavia—was able to enact a quick transfer to sovereignty, staying away from the ethnic violence clashes that took place in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

In 2002, Janez Drnovsek—leader of the Liberal Democracy of Slovenia (LDS)—won the presidential election in a run-off over former justice minister Barbara Brezigar with 56.5 per cent of the vote. Drnovsek had acted as Slovenia’s prime minister since 1992, briefly losing his post for six months in 2000 to Andrej Bajuk after losing a no confidence vote.

The October 2000 State Chamber election resulted in a new mandate for the LDS-led alliance, which includes the United List of Social-Democrats (ZLSD), the SLS + SKD Slovenian People’s Party (SLS+SKD) and the Democratic Party of Retired People of Slovenia (DeSUS).

Anton Rop of the LDS took over as head of government after Drnovsek’s 2002 election, maintaining the coalition government.

In 2004, Slovenia joined both the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Citizens had backed the country’s entry into the two groups in a March 2003 referendum. In the October 2004 legislative ballot, the Social Democratic Party of Slovenia (SDS) secured 29 seats. SDS leader Janez Jansa took over as prime minister.

Click here for the 2004 Slovenia Legislative Election Tracker 

In November 2006, Slovenian prime minister Janez Jansa sacked labour minister Janez Drobnic, who caused a controversy after suggesting financial restrictions on abortion as a measure to increase the country’s birth rate. Jansa explained his decision, saying, "Too often he acted without harmonizing his activities, he had too many proposals that were not considered carefully and caused useless conflicts."

On Jan. 1, 2007, Slovenia became the first of the 10 nations that joined the European Union (EU) in May 2004 to adopt the Euro.

The November 2007 presidential election in Slovenia was decided in a run-off. Danilo Tuerk—a lawyer who worked with former United Nations (UN) secretary-general Kofi Annan—defeated former Slovenian prime minister Lojze Peterle with 68.23 per cent of the vote.

Click here for Slovenia 2007 Presidential Election Tracker 

2008 Legislative Election

For the first half of 2008, Slovenia holds the rotating presidency of the European Union (EU). On Apr. 2, Dimitrij Rupel, Slovenia’s foreign minister, said his country will help bring Serbia closer to the EU before general elections there in May, declaring, "We intend to take one step further in the direction of Serbia getting closer to the EU—we will try and convince the ‘Doubting Thomases’ to offer Serbia to sign the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU before the ballot."

On Apr. 23, Slovenian president Danilo Tuerk told the European Parliament that the EU must play the role of a global leader, saying, "The European Union will remain a success story only if it stays dynamic and proves itself as an increasingly significant political player. In order to achieve this, it must move forward and at present this means the EU must take on the role of a global leader."

Political Players

President: Danilo Tuerk
Prime minister: Janez Jansa - SDS

Legislative Branch: The Skupscina Slovenije (Assembly of Slovenia) has two chambers. The Drzavni Zbor (State Chamber) has 90 members, elected to four-year terms; 88 members are elected by proportional representation and two members are elected by ethnic minorities. The Drzavni Svet (State Council) has 40 members; 18 members represent local councils and 22 members represent both commercial and non-commercial interests.

Results of Last Election:

President - Oct. 21 and Nov. 11, 2007

State Chamber - Oct. 3, 2004

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