Election Date: September 21, 2008

Abstract: At stake: State Chamber

At stake: State Chamber

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."

In June, Social Democracy (SD) leader Borut Pahor called for changes in existing regulations to guarantee press freedoms, saying, “Without a free media there is no free society, and politicians should provide as far as possible the conditions for the autonomy of media.”

On Jun. 15, For Real (Zares) held a convention to debate the party’s platform and present its candidates for the legislative ballot. Zares leader Gregor Golobic declared: “A change of power at the autumn general election is a key condition for a shift in Slovenian politics.”

On Jun. 16, Slovenian president Danilo Tuerk signed the decree that sets the legislative election for Sept. 21. Tuerk urged for a high turnout, calling the electoral process “a mirror of the political culture of our society.”

On Jun. 30, Slovenian foreign minister Dimitrij Rupel handed over the EU presidency to his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner in a symbolic ceremony, declaring, “I have to say that the EU, in the moment when I hand it over to you, is in good shape.” Kouchner replied: “It is true that Slovenia is not a large country and that its population is small, but it has done a great job with its foreign minister and his team.”

On Jul. 29, Slovenian economy minister Andrej Vizjak blamed a recent rise in the country’s inflation rate to the adoption of the common European currency in 2007, saying, “I am sure that adoption of the euro contributed a very important part to inflation, a significantly bigger one than some calculated.”

On Aug. 16, Jansa assured that his party will win the upcoming vote by a wide margin, saying, “We are convinced that this year’s harvest in the late autumn will be good and rich.”

In early September, Finnish public broadcaster YLE denounced Jansa for allegedly receiving bribes along with other people to allocate a contract to Finnish company Patria Vehicles Oy in 2006. YLE said its information came from internal Patria documents and unnamed sources.

On Sept. 9, during an extraordinary parliamentary session, Jansa proclaimed his innocence and called the YLE reports “absurd and untrue,” adding, “Instead of talking about what to do in order to live better, the whole country is dealing with bribery allegations.”

Voting took place on Sept. 21. Final results gave the opposition Social Democracy (SD) a slight lead over the Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS). The SD is expected to form a coalition government with For Real (Zares) and the Liberal Democracy of Slovenia (LDS).

Jansa acknowledged defeat, declaring, “The result is tight (...) but we can speak about a probability that the three centre-left parties will form the next government.”

SD leader Borut Pahor, who could become prime minister later this month, declared, “We will wait for the final result but I am an optimist and I think we will win.”

Official results were released on Oct. 5. Pahor’s SD got 30.45 percent of the vote, followed by the SDS with 29.26 per cent. Zares came third with 9.37 per cent, the Democratic Party of Retired People of Slovenia (DeSUS) with 7.45 per cent, SNS with 5.4 per cent, the Slovenian People’s Party (SLS) and the Youth Party of Slovenia (SMS) with 5.21 percent, and LDS with 5.21 per cent.

Turnout was tabled at 63.10 per cent, up from 60.7 per cent four years ago.

On Sept. 22, Jansa declared: “We will be happy if the future government will repeat the macroeconomic results we are leaving behind, the lowest level of unemployment in Slovenia’s history and the highest growth.”

On Sept. 24, Pahor discussed his vision for the next government, saying, “We will need reforms in these complex economic circumstances, in order to secure the prosperity of society and the individual. Those reforms will demand bravery, and they will need to be discussion with those in the profession, the civilian society, as well as the opposition. (...) Slovenia is not politically divided, and trust needs to be established.”

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

	Oct. 21	Nov. 11
Danilo Tuerk	24.47%	68.23%
Lojze Peterle	28.73%	31.77%
Mitja Gaspari	24.09%	--
Zmago Jelincic	19.16%	--
Darko Krajnc	2.18%	--
Elena Pecaric	0.90%	--
Monika Piberl	0.48%	--

State Chamber - Sept. 21, 2008

	Vote%	Seats
Social Democracy (SD)	30.45%	29
Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS)	29.26%	28
For Real (Zares)	9.37%	9
Democratic Party of Retired People of Slovenia (DeSUS)	7.45%	7
Slovenian National Party (SNS)	5.40%	5
Slovenian People’s Party (SLS) and Youth Party of Slovenia (SMS)	5.21%	5
Liberal Democracy of Slovenia (LDS)	5.21%	5
New Slovenia (NSi)	3.40%	--
Lipa Party	1.81%	--
List for Justice and Development (LPR)	0.56%	--
Greens of Slovenia (ZS)	0.51%	--
Christian Democratic Party (KDS)	0.45%	--
List for Clear Drinking Water (LZCPV)	0.39%	--
Party of Slovenian People (SSN)	0.25%	--
Green Coalition: Green Party and Green Progress	0.21%	--
Forward Slovenia (NPR)	0.05%	--
Acacias (Akacije)	0.02%	--
Hungarian and Italian national communities	--	2

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