Politics of Slovakia takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Slovakia is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Basic Data
Country name
- conventional long form: Slovak Republic
- coventional short form: Slovakia
- local long form: Slovenská republika (note: NOT Slovenská Republika)
- local short form: Slovensko
Country codes SK, SVK, 703; bar code: 858
Capital: Bratislava
Administrative divisions: 8 regions (kraj); see Regions of Slovakia
Independence: 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into Czech Republic and Slovakia)
National holiday: Independence Day, 1 January (1993); for others see National holidays in Slovakia
Flag: see Flag of Slovakia
Coat of arms : see Coat of arms of Slovakia
National anthem : see Nad Tatrou sa blýska
Seal/Stamp: see Seal of Slovakia (basically the Coat of arms surrounded by the text SLOVENSKÁ REPUBLIKA)
Legal system
The Constitution is ratified 1 September 1992, and became effective 1 October 1992 (some parts 1 January 1993). It was amended in September 1998 to allow direct election of the president and again in february 2001 due to EU admission requirements. The civil law system is based on Austro-Hungarian codes. Slovakia has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction. The legal code modified to comply with the obligations of Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and to expunge Marxist-Leninist legal theory.
Executive branch
The president is elected by direct, popular vote for a five-year term. Following following National Council elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president. Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister. Government coalition as of February 2006: SDKÚ-DS and SMK (ANO left the government coalition in September 2005, KDH in February 2006)
Legislative branch
Slovakia's highest legislative body is the 150-seat unicameral National Council of the Slovak Republic. Delegates are elected for 4-year terms on the basis of proportional representation.
The Slovak political scene supports a wide spectrum of political parties, but the influence of leftist and nationalist parties has declined in the past several years. New parties arise at a frequent rate other parties cease to exist or merge at a frequent rate.
Political parties and elections
- Election results include names of political parties. See for additional information about parties the List of political parties in Slovakia. An overview on elections and election results is included in Elections in Slovakia.
- Main article: Slovak presidential election, 2004
| Summary of the 3 and 17 April 2004 Slovakia presidential election resultsedit |
| Candidate |
Nominating party |
Votes 1st round |
% |
Votes 2nd round |
% |
| Ivan Gašparovič |
Movement for Democracy, People's Union, endorsed by Smer |
442,564 |
22.3 |
1,079,592 |
59.9 |
| Vladimír Mečiar |
People's Party - Movement for a Democratic Slovakia |
650,242 |
32.7 |
722,368 |
40.1 |
| Eduard Kukan |
Slovak Democratic and Christian Union |
438,920 |
22.1 |
|
| Rudolf Schuster |
independent |
147,549 |
7.4 |
| František Mikloško |
Christian Democratic Movement, endorsed by the Party of the Hungarian Coalition |
129,414 |
6.5 |
| Martin Bútora |
independent |
129,387 |
6.5 |
| Ján Králik |
Party of the Democratic Left |
15,873 |
0.8 |
| Jozef Kalman |
Left Bloc |
10,221 |
0.5 |
| Július Kubík |
independent |
7,734 |
0.4 |
| Jozef Šesták |
independent |
6,785 |
0.3 |
| Stanislav Bernát |
independent |
5,719 |
0.3 |
| Lubo Roman |
Alliance of the New Citizen, withdrew his candidature on March 15 |
- |
- |
| Total |
- |
1,986,214 |
- |
1,801,960 |
- |
- Main article: Slovak parliamentary election, 2002
| Summary of the 2002 Slovakia National Council election resultsedit |
| Parties |
Votes |
% |
Seats |
| People's Party - Movement for a Democratic Slovakia |
|
19,5 |
36 |
| Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (Slovenská demokratická a kresťanská únia) |
|
15,1 |
28 |
| Direction (Smer) |
|
13,5 |
25 |
| Party of the Hungarian Coalition (Strana maďarskej koalície - Magyar Koalíció Pártja) |
|
11,2 |
20 |
| Christian Democratic Movement (Kresťanskodemokratické hnutie) |
|
8,3 |
15 |
| Alliance of the New Citizen (Aliancia Nového Občana) |
|
8,0 |
15 |
| Communist Party of Slovakia (Komunistická strana Slovenska) |
|
6,3 |
11 |
| True Slovak National Party (Pravá Slovenská národná strana) |
|
3,7 |
- |
| Slovak National Party (Slovenská národná strana) |
|
3,3 |
- |
| Movement for Democracy (Hnutie za demokraciu) |
|
3,3 |
- |
| Social Democratic Alternative (Sociálnodemokratická alternatíva) |
|
1,8 |
- |
| Party of the Democratic Left (Strana demokratickej ľavice) |
|
1,4 |
- |
| Total (Turnout 70.07 %) |
|
|
150 |
- note: the election results do not correspond to the current seats in the parliament, because many deputies and parties have split from parties or switched sides in the parliament in the meantime
Other Election results:
- -EU parliament, see European Parliament election, 2004 (Slovakia)
- -Regions, see Slovak regional elections, 2005
- -local authorities, see Slovak local authority election, 2002
- -older elections, see Elections in Slovakia
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Presidential election: president elected by direct, popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 3 April and 17 April 2004 (next to be held April 2009);
Parliamentary election: following National Council elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president; election last held 20-21 September 2002 (next to be held June 2006 as premature elections)
Judicial branch
The country's highest appellate forum is the Supreme Court (Najvyšší súd), the judges of which are elected by the National Council; below that are regional, district, and military courts. In certain cases the law provides for decisions of tribunals of judges to be attended by lay judges from the citizenry. Slovakia also has a special Constitutional Court (Ústavný súd), which rules on constitutional issues. The 13 members of this court are appointed by the president from a slate of candidates nominated by Parliament.
In 2002 Parliament passed legislation which created a Judicial Council. This 18-member council, composed of judges, law professors, and other legal experts, is now responsible for the nomination of judges. All judges except those of the Constitutional Court are appointed by the president from a list proposed by the Judicial Council. The Council also is responsible for appointing Disciplinary Senates in cases of judicial misconduct.
International organization participation
Slovakia is member of ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU]], FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, Visegrád group, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC
Political pressure groups and leaders
