Info

Slovakia

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Boundary Delimitation

BD001

Delimitation of constituencies

Question:	Are constituencies delimited for election purposes?
Answer:	c. Not applicable
Comments:	Under law for national elections the territory of the Slovak Republic forms one constituency. Constituencies for elections at regional and local level are delimited for election period.
Source:	Livia Skultetyova Director of the Elections and Referendum Department Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic
Verified:	2007/01/09

BD003

Criteria for drawing boundaries

Question:	On what criteria are the boundaries drawn?
Answer(s):	a. "Equality" of population b. Respecting natural barriers g. Other
Comments:	For regional and local elections, boundaries are drawn comparatively according to the number of inhabitants. Under law for national elections the territory of the Slovak Republic forms one constituency.
Source:	Livia Skultetyova Director of the Elections and Referendum Department Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic
Verified:	2007/01/09

BD005

Body responsible for drawing boundaries

Question:	The body responsible for drawing the boundaries is:
Answer(s):	g. Other
Comments:	For regional and local elections, the bodies responsible for drawing the boundaries are regional and local parliaments. Under law for national elections the territory of the Slovak Republic forms one constituency.
Source:	Livia Skultetyova Director of the Elections and Referendum Department Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic
Verified:	2007/01/09

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Electoral Systems

ES001

Head of State

Question:	How is the Head of State selected?
Answer(s):	c. Directly elected in general elections (absolute majority with 2nd round if necessary)
Comments:
Source:	Constitution, article 101
Verified:	2002/06/18

ES002

Head of Government

Question:	How is the Head of Government selected?
Answer:	e. Appointed
Comments:
Source:	Constitution, art. 60
Verified:	2002/07/05

ES003

President

Question:	Does the country have a president?
Answer:	a. Yes
Comments:
Source:	Mrs. Lívia Skultétyová, Head of the Election department, Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic, +421-7/4333 8662
Verified:	2002/07/05

ES004

Number of Chambers

Question:	The national legislature consists of (one/two chambers):
Answer:	a. One chamber
Comments:
Source:	Mrs. Lívia Skultétyová, Head of the Election department, Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic, +421-7/4333 8662
Verified:	2002/07/05

ES005

Electoral System (Chamber 1)

Question:	What is the electoral system for Chamber 1 of the national legislature?
Answer(s):	g. List Proportional Representation
Comments:	Closed party-list system, with proportional representation using Hagenbach-Bischoff method and greatest remainders calculation for leftover seats. Each elector can cast four preferential votes for candidates with respect to the same list. The threshold requires every party (even listed in a coalition) to win five % of the national vote to gain parliamentary representation. Vacancies arising between general elections are filled by substitutes chosen at the same time as titular members.
Source:	Parliamentary Election Act, article 41
Verified:	2002/07/05

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Legislative Framework

LF001

Status of Electoral Law

Question:	What is the status of the electoral law governing national elections?
Answer(s):	a. Part of Constitution b. Separate legislation
Comments:	Some principals in the Constitution. The rules for elections are in a separate law.
Source:	Law on the procedure of the Election of the President Parliamentary Election Act Referendum law of the Slovak National Council Constitution
Verified:	2002/07/05

LF003

Electoral Law covers

Question:	The national electoral law covers:
Answer(s):	a. National elections
Comments:	All levels have separate laws.
Source:	Mrs. Lívia Skultétyová, Head of the Election department, Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic, +421-7/4333 8662
Verified:	2002/06/18

LF004

Compulsory/voluntary voting

Question:	Is voting on the national level voluntary or compulsory?
Answer(s):	a. Voting is voluntary
Comments:
Source:	Mrs. Lívia Skultétyová, Head of the Election department, Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic, +421-7/4333 8662
Verified:	2002/06/18

LF007

Electoral Disputes Agency(ies)

Question:	What are the agency(ies) responsible for the first level of formal electoral disputes?
Answer(s):	a. Judiciary b. EMB d. Other
Comments:	a) The Supreme Court. Constitutional court if the legality of the election is uncertain. b) The Central Election Committee exists only during the elections and is dissolved after. d)Municipality if the claims are connected with the voter registration. There is no hierarchy between them, but it depends on the kind of dispute.
Source:	Law of Constitutional court, 1993/38 Mrs. Lívia Skultétyová, Head of the Election department, Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic, +421-7/4333 8662
Verified:	2002/06/18

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Electoral Management

EM001

Please provide the following contact information for the national electoral management body:

Name of Institution: Ministry of interior of the Slovak republic
                     Central Election Commission
Website Address: www.civil.gov.sk	

Source

No Source

Verified

2009/11/13

(Found a mistake? Please let us know.)

EM002

EM004

EMB budget determined by

Question:	The budget of the national electoral management body is determined by:
Answer(s):	c. The legislature
Comments:	The Ministry of Interior is providing everything, so the commission does not have a specialised budget.
Source:	Mrs. Lívia Skultétyová, Head of the Election department, Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic, +421-7/4333 8662
Verified:	2002/06/18

EM005

EMB expenditures controlled by

Question:	The expenditures of the national electoral management body are controlled by:
Answer(s):	d. A national government department
Comments:	Ministry of Finance
Source:	Mrs. Lívia Skultétyová, Head of the Election department, Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic, +421-7/4333 8662
Verified:	2007/01/09

EM006

Term of EMB members

Question:	The term of the members of the national electoral management body is:
Answer:	b. For a specified number of years
Comments:	The term of members of election commissions for elections at regional and local level is 4 years. Election commissions for elections at national level are created for the elections, after elections they cease to perform their powers.
Source:	Parliamentary Election Act, article 11
Verified:	2007/01/09

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Voter Education

VE001

Information campaigns performed by

Question:	Who conducts information campaigns for national elections (informing where, when and how to register and/or vote)?
Answer(s):	d. National Government e. Regional Governments f. Local Governments i. Media
Comments:	d) Ministry of Interior e) District state administration authorities f) Municipalities
Source:	Mrs. Lívia Skultétyová, Head of the Election department, Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic, +421-7/4333 8662
Verified:	2007/01/09

VE002

Frequency of voter education programs

Question:	At the national level, how often are voter education programs conducted?
Answer:	b. Election time only
Comments:	Before elections
Source:	Mrs. Lívia Skultétyová, Head of the Election department, Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic
Verified:	2007/01/09

VE003

National civic education

Question:	Is there a national civic education campaign (rights and responsibilities of citizens)?
Answer(s):	l. Other
Comments:	Uncertain
Source:	Mrs. Lívia Skultétyová, Head of the Election department, Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic
Verified:	2007/01/09

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Voter Registration

VR001

Voting age

Question:	What is the legal voting age in the national elections?
Answer:	c. 18
Comments:	Citizens of the Slovak Republic, who have reached the age of 18 on election day, and who stay within the territory of the Slovak Republic on the election day, have the right to vote for the National Council of the Slovak Republic.
Source:	Parliamentary Election Act, article 2
Verified:	2007/01/09

VR002

Other voting requirements

Question:	Beyond age, what other qualifications exist for registering to vote and voting in the national elections?
Answer(s):	a. Citizenship
Comments:
Source:	Parliamentary Election Act, article 5(3)
Verified:	2002/06/18

VR004

Body responsible for voter registration

Question:	Which is the authority responsible for the registration of voters for national elections?
Answer:	c. Local Government Authority
Comments:	c. Municipality Everyone who under law has the right to vote is enlisted in a permanent voter list in municipality in the territory of which he/she has permanent residence.
Source:	Livia Skultetyova Director of the Elections and Referendum Department Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic
Verified:	2007/01/09

VR008

Compulsory voter registration

Question:	Is it compulsory to be on the voters register?
Answer:	a. Yes
Comments:	Everyone who under law has the right to vote is enlisted in a permanent voter list in municipality in the territory of which he/she has permanent residence. Parliamentary Election Act, article 6: (1) Citizens of the Slovak Republic who have the right to vote are registered in the List according to the place of their permanent residence. Each elector can be registered only in one list. (2) Soldiers of armed forces and members of armed security forces and armed forces, who are collectively accommodated, shall be registered in the list in the municipality where that unit is located. Registration shall be carried out on the basis of documents furnished by the unit, within the term specified by the mayor of the municipality. Registration in the list is valid only for the time of elections. The municipality, where the unit has its seat, shall immediately notify the municipality of permanent residence of the soldier or member of the armed forces of this registration. The municipality shall ensure that precincts consisting exclusively of soldiers of the armed forces and members of armed security forces and armed forces are not formed. (3) Persons registered in the list according to paragraph 2 for the time of election should be deleted from the registers of municipalities where they have their permanent residences. (4) A citizen of the Slovak Republic who does not have permanent residence in the territory of the Slovak Republic, and who presents himself or herself in the polling station on election day, will be registered by the election commission in the list, and entitled to vote in that commission's electoral district. Registration in the list will be recorded in his or her passport by this election commission. Registration in the list is valid only for the time of elections.
Source:	Parliamentary Election Act, article 6
Verified:	2007/01/09

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Voting Operations

VO003

Electors vote at

Question:	Where can electors vote?
Answer(s):	c. At any polling station in the same country d. At specially designated polling stations e. At mobile polling stations j. Other
Comments:	c) If the citizen has a voting certificate he/she shall appear before the Precinct Election Commission and vote in person. d) Based on residence. 1000 persons can form a polling station. e) Health problems or if you know you will be out of the district you can apply to get a "card" to be added to the new voting list. j)Any voter who cannot come to the polling station may ask the Precinct Election Commission to vote in the portable ballot box. In such a case, the Precinct Election Commission shall send at least two of its members to the voter with the portable election box, envelope and ballots; those members shall ensure that the voting is secret.
Source:	Mrs. Lívia Skultétyová, Head of the Election department, Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic, +421-7/4333 8662 Parliamentary Election Act, article 28
Verified:	2002/06/18

VO004

Voting outside the country is permitted for

Question:	Who can vote from outside the country?
Answer(s):	a. Outside the country voting is not permitted
Comments:
Source:	Law on Procedure of the Election of the President of the Slovak Republic, on Plebiscite and Removal of the President and on Supplementation of Several Laws, 18 Mach 1999 ART 1. Parliamentary Election Act, article 2
Verified:	2002/07/05

VO005

Locations for voting outside of the country

Question:	If voting outside the country is permitted, at what places?
Answer(s):	g. No information available
Comments:
Source:	Mrs. Lívia Skultétyová, Head of the Election department, Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic, +421-7/4333 8662
Verified:	2002/06/18

VO011

Voting method

Question:	How do electors cast their votes?
Answer(s):	a. Manually marking of ballots
Comments:	They put the chosen list of candidates to the envelope. The voter can also manually mark no more than 4 names of candidates they prefer.
Source:	Mrs. Lívia Skultétyová, Head of the Election department, Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic, +421-7/4333 8662
Verified:	2002/06/18

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Parties and Candidates

PC001

Registration requirements for parties (Chamber 1)

Question:	What are the registration requirements for political parties running for national elections (Chamber 1)?
Answer(s):	a. Signature requirement (specify requirement) b. Deposit requirement (specify amount)
Comments:	Only a political party which is registered under the Act on political parties (2005) by Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic can submit a list of candidates for the elections to the National Council of the Slovak Republic. Other requirement under paragraph 18 of the Act on elections to the National Council of the Slovak Republic (2005) as amended is a deposit.
Source:	Mrs. Lívia Skultétyová, Head of the Election department, Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic
Verified:	2007/01/09

PC003

Registration requirements for candidates (Chamber 1)

Question:	What are the legal qualifications to become a candidate at legislative elections (Chamber 1)?
Answer(s):	a. Age b. Citizenship d. Residence f. Registration j. Other
Comments:	j) A signed declaration of the candidate attached to the list of candidates in which the candidate declares that he/she agrees with the candidacy, that he/she is not a candidate of any other political party and that no restrictions apply to his/her suffrage.
Source:	Mrs. Lívia Skultétyová, Head of the Election department, Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic, +421-7/4333 8662 Parliamentary Election Act, article 17
Verified:	2007/01/09

PC008

Independent candidates

Question:	Can independent candidates compete in presidential or legislative elections?
Answer(s):	b. In presidential elections
Comments:
Source:	Mrs. Lívia Skultétyová, Head of the Election department, Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic
Verified:	2007/01/09

PC012

Public funding of parties

Question:	Do political parties receive direct/indirect public funding?
Answer(s):	b. Direct c. Indirect
Comments:
Source:	Paragraphs 25 – 32 of the Act on political parties (2005)
Verified:	2007/01/09

PC015

Basis of public funding

Question:	What is the basis of the public funding?
Answer(s):	c. Based on current legislative representation e. Other
Comments:	e) Funding of political parties from the state s budget can be divided into three categories: 1) funding according to the number of votes acquired in the elections to the National Council of the Slovak Republic, 2) funding for performance of political parties which is granted only to political parties which can claim the funding according to the number of votes, 3) funding according to the number of seat in the National Council of the Slovak Republic
Source:	Livia Skultetyova Director of the Elections and Referendum Department Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic
Verified:	2007/01/09

PC017

Private funding of parties

Question:	Are political parties entitled to private funding?
Answer:	a. Yes
Comments:
Source:	Mrs. Lívia Skultétyová, Head of the Election department, Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic, +421-7/4333 8662
Verified:	2002/07/05

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Vote Counting

VC004

Voters are sorted/counted at

Question:	Following the close of the voting, where are the votes first sorted and counted?
Answer:	a. The polling stations
Comments:	The Precinct Election Commission shall take out the envelopes with the ballots from the ballot box, count the envelopes and compare their number with the records in the List of Voters. The commission shall exclude all non-official envelopes. After all ballots have been taken out from the envelopes, the commission shall divide and count the ballots cast for individual political parties, exclude invalid ballots and find how many voters used the right to preference vote. The commission shall further count preference votes given to individual candidates on the ballots. Any member of the Precinct Election Commission may look at the ballots. The chairman of the Precinct Election Commission shall check the correctness of the counting of votes.
Source:	Parliamentary Election Act, article 33
Verified:	2009/11/04

VC011

Conditions for recount

Question:	Under what conditions are ballots recounted?
Answer(s):	c. Automatically (triggered) recounted under certain conditions e. Court order
Comments:	e) They can be recounted e.g. by the Constitutional Court, if there was brought a complaint referring to an election matter to this court.
Source:	Mrs. Lívia Skultétyová, Head of the Election department, Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic, +421-7/4333 8662
Verified:	2009/11/04

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Media and Elections

ME037

Parties receive free broadcast time based on

Question:	What are the criteria for allocating free broadcast time and/or free printed advertisement space to political parties?
Answer(s):	h. No information available
Comments:	Not applicable since the time which is allocated for election campaign to political parties by Slovak Television, Slovak Radio and licensed broadcaster is not free but paid. Otherwise the allocation is equal regardless of size of political party and previous performance.
Source:	Livia Skultetyova Director of the Elections and Referendum Department Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic
Verified:	2007/01/09

ME059

Existence of televised debates

Question:	Are televised debates between candidates or party representatives normally conducted?
Answer(s):	a. Yes, in presidential elections b. Yes, in legislative elections
Comments:
Source:	Livia Skultetyova Director of the Elections and Referendum Department Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic
Verified:	2007/01/09

ME062

Blackout period for opinion polls

Question:	What is the blackout period, if any, during which results of pre-election opinion polls may not be released to the public?
Answer:	a. 1 day
Comments:	- 1 days before the election day (parliamentary) - 3 days before the election day (presidential)
Source:	Livia Skultetyova Director of the Elections and Referendum Department Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic
Verified:	2007/01/09

ME080

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Direct Democracy

DD002

Direct Democracy Provisions (National Level)

Question:	Are there any Legal Provisions for Direct Democracy Procedures at the national level?
Answer:	a. Yes
Comments:
Source:	The Constitution of the Slovak Republic (1992), Art. 7 and 93–100; the Act on the way of executing referendum (1992) Direct Democracy: The International IDEA Handbook (2008) http://www.idea.int/publications/direct_democracy/index.cfm
Verified:	2006/12/10

DD003

Mandatory referendums (national level)

Question:	Are there any Legal Provisions for Mandatory Referendums at the national level?
Answer:	a. Yes
Comments:
Source:	The Constitution of the Slovak Republic (1992), Art. 7 and 93–100; the Act on the way of executing referendum (1992) Direct Democracy: The International IDEA Handbook (2008) http://www.idea.int/publications/direct_democracy/index.cfm
Verified:	2006/12/10

DD004

Optional referendums (national level)

Question:	Are there any Legal Provisions for Optional Referendums at the national level?
Answer:	a. Yes
Comments:
Source:	The Constitution of the Slovak Republic (1992), Art. 93–100; the Act on the way of executing referendum (1992) Direct Democracy: The International IDEA Handbook (2008) http://www.idea.int/publications/direct_democracy/index.cfm
Verified:	2006/12/10

DD005

Citizens' Initiatives (national level)

Question:	Are there any Legal Provisions for Citizen’s Initiatives at national level?
Answer:	a. Yes
Comments:
Source:	The Constitution of the Slovak Republic (1992), Art. 93–100; the Act on the way of executing referendum (1992) Direct Democracy: The International IDEA Handbook (2008) http://www.idea.int/publications/direct_democracy/index.cfm
Verified:	2006/12/10

DD006

Agenda Initiatives (national level)

Question:	Are there any Legal Provisions for Agenda Initiatives at national level?
Answer:	a. Yes
Comments:
Source:	Direct Democracy: The International IDEA Handbook (2008) http://www.idea.int/publications/direct_democracy/index.cfm
Verified:	2009/10/26

DD007

Recalls (national level)

Question:	Are there any Legal Provisions for Recalls at national level?
Answer:	b. No
Comments:
Source:	Direct Democracy: The International IDEA Handbook (2008) http://www.idea.int/publications/direct_democracy/index.cfm
Verified:	2009/10/26

DD129

Binding referenda

Question:	Are the results of referenda always binding, never binding or sometimes binding?
Answer:	b. Sometimes binding
Comments:
Source:	Direct Democracy: The International IDEA Handbook (2008) http://www.idea.int/publications/direct_democracy/index.cfm
Verified:	2009/10/26

DD130

National referenda deal with

Question:	Are the types of issues to vote upon in a referendum constitutional changes only, other issues only or both constitutional and other issues?
Answer:	c. Both constitutional and other issues
Comments:
Source:	Direct Democracy: The International IDEA Handbook (2008) http://www.idea.int/publications/direct_democracy/index.cfm
Verified:	2009/10/26

DD131

Direct Democracy at sub-national level

Question:	Are there any Legal Provisions for Direct Democracy at sub-national levels (regional or local)?
Answer:	a. Yes
Comments:
Source:	Direct Democracy: The International IDEA Handbook (2008) http://www.idea.int/publications/direct_democracy/index.cfm
Verified:	2009/10/26