Editing Elections in Slovakia (section)

==Overall information on the electoral system and elections in Slovakia==

=== Municipal elections ===
2,904 municipalities make up [[Slovakia]] each with a [[mayor]] and [[municipal councilor]]s (20,646).  Citizens need to reach the age of 18 at the day of elections and have a permanent residency in their municipalities in order to be able to vote in the municipal elections. After receiving the ballot paper from the electoral commission, the voter is free to select any desired number of candidates - the maximum being the number of the seats in the electoral district (or in the [[town council]] in case of a [[village]]). As well voters can vote for a [[mayor]]. Elections are held every four years.

The latest elections were held on [[2022 Slovak local elections|29 October 2022]].
===Regional elections===

Slovakia comprises eight self-governing regions. Citizens need to reach the age of 18 at the day of elections and have a permanent residency in their municipalities in order to be able to vote in the regional elections. After receiving the [[ballot paper]] from the [[electoral commission]], the voter is free to select any desired number of candidates - the maximum being the number of all the candidates on the ballot paper.<ref>{{cite web |title=Voľby do orgánov samosprávy obcí Informácie pre voliča |url=https://www.minv.sk/swift_data/source/verejna_sprava/volby_a_referendum/150_oso/WOSO18_InfoSK.htm |website=minv.sk |access-date=17 May 2019}}</ref> In 2017, deputies of the [[Slovak National Council]] voted to extend the term of governors from 4 years to 5 years (for the [[2017 Slovak regional elections|2017 election]] only), and change from a 2-round election to only 1 round.<ref>{{cite web |title=Predsedov VÚC budú ľudia voliť iba v jednom kole |url=http://www.tvnoviny.sk/domace/1856899_predsedov-vuc-budu-ludia-volit-iba-v-jednom-kole |website=tvnoviny.sk |date=3 February 2017 |access-date=17 May 2019}}</ref> After the 2022 regional elections, they will be held every four years together with municipal elections.

The latest elections were [[2022 Slovak regional elections|held on 29 October 2022]].

===Parliamentary elections===

Slovakia is a [[parliamentary republic]]. [[Legislature|Legislative powers]] are vested in the [[National Council (Slovakia)|National Assembly of the Slovak Republic]] (Slovak: Národná rada Slovenskej republiky, NRSR). The NRSR is of a [[Unicameralism|unicameral]] body and consists of 150 members of the parliament directly elected by [[universal adult suffrage]] for a four-year term office. The prime minister, who serves as the head of government, is appointed by the president, but is accountable solely to the NRSR. The seats at National Assembly are elected by a [[proportional representation]] (PR) in a single, nationwide electoral constituency. Slovakia has a [[multi-party system]], with numerous parties in which no one party often has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties must work with each other to form coalition governments. Before the elections, political parties (or coalitions of two or more parties) submit the lists of candidates. Voters may indicate preferences for up to four candidates in one list. The seats at National Council are distributed by [[Hagenbach-Bischoff system|Hagenbach-Bischoff]] method on a nationwide basis - however a threshold of 5% of the votes needs to be met in order for a party to participate in the distribution of National Council seats, whereas coalitions of two to three parties and four or more parties are required to obtain at least seven and ten percent of the vote, respectively.<ref>{{cite web |title=Slovak Republic Parliamentary Elections 5 March 2016 |url=https://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/slovakia/235591?download=true |website=osce.org |access-date=17 May 2019}}</ref>

The latest elections were held on [[2023 Slovak parliamentary election|30 September 2023]].

===Presidential elections===

Since Slovakia operates under a parliamentary system of government, the president largely possesses only ceremonial functions, but is also equipped with the opportunity to [[veto]] legislation (although the veto can be easily overturned by the simple majority in the parliament). By law, the presidential election should be called no later than 55 days prior to election day. The president serves as a [[head of state]] and is directly elected by [[universal suffrage]] in a two-stage election. If no candidate obtains an absolute majority of all valid votes cast in the first round, then the top two candidates qualify for a runoff election, in which the candidate with the largest number of votes is elected to office for a term of five years. In order to secure a place on the ballot, presidential candidates must be nominated by fifteen members of the National Council, or by a petition signed by 15,000 citizens.

Originally, the National Council chose the president, but a 1999 amendment to the constitution established the popular election of the president by runoff voting. Popular voting for presidential elections was adopted following a prolonged impasse in 1998, in which the National Council repeatedly tried to elect a new president, but no candidate attained the three-fifths majority required by the constitution.<ref>{{cite web |title=Election Resources Slovakia |url=http://electionresources.org/sk/ |website=electionresources.org |publisher=electionresources |access-date=17 May 2019}}</ref>

The latest elections was the first round of the [[2024 Slovak presidential election|2024 election]] on 23 March 2024. The second round is planned for 6 April 2024.

===Elections to the European parliament===

Slovakia is a member of the [[European Union]] since 1 May 2004 and therefore only witnessed three elections to the European Parliament since. Slovakia gets to elect thirteen members of the European Parliament, using a [[proportional representation system]]. During its 15-year membership in the European Union, Slovakia has consistently scored the lowest among the member countries in the turnout rates during European elections. In 2019, when the latest European elections took place, the turnout in Slovakia was only at 23% of registered voters.<ref>{{cite web |title=European Election Turnout |url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/elections2014-results/en/turnout.html |website=europa.eu |access-date=17 May 2019}}</ref>

The latest elections were held on [[2024 European Parliament election in Slovakia|8 June 2024]].