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SLOVENIA
Drzavni Zbor (National Assembly)
ELECTIONS IN 2008

Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module

A historical Archive of past election results for this chamber can be found on a separate page

Parliament name -
Structure of parliament Bicameral
Chamber name (generic / translated) Drzavni Zbor / National Assembly
Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) Drzavni Svet / National Council
BACKGROUND
Dates of election / renewal (from/to) 21 September 2008
Purpose of elections Elections were held for all the seats in the National Assembly on the normal expiry of the members' term of office.
On 16 June 2008 President Danilo Türk signed a decree setting the date of elections to the National Assembly for 21 September.

In the previous elections held in October 2004 the conservative Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) and its partner the New Slovenia Christian People's Party (NSi) won a total of 38 seats one more than the three parties in the outgoing centre left coalition government. The latter comprised the then Prime Minister Anton Rop's Liberal Democracy of Slovenia (LDS which had governed since independence in 1991) the Social Democrats (SD) and the Democratic Pensioners' Party (DeSUS). The National Assembly subsequently elected Mr. Janez Jansa (SDS) as the new Prime Minister. He formed a coalition government comprising the SDS the NSi the Slovenian People's Party (SLS) and the DeSUS.

The LDS experienced a series of splits after 2004. Prior to the 2007 presidential elections some LDS members left to form the "For Real-New Politics" (ZARES) Party under the leadership of Mr. Janez Drnovsek. Former prime minister Rop who resigned as LDS leader in 2005 joined the SD in 2007 along with other members. More members left the party following the election of Ms. Katarina Kresal as LDS leader.

In the run off presidential elections held in November 2007 Mr. Türk was elected as the country's third President. He was supported by the opposition parties the SD and ZARES as well as the DeSUS.

The country introduced the euro in January 2007. It enjoys economic growth of 5.5 per cent although inflation hit 6.9 per cent in summer 2008 the highest in six years.

Nearly 1 200 candidates from 19 parties were vying for 88 seats in the National Assembly two others being reserved for ethnic minorities. For the first time there were no independent candidates. The quota for women candidates introduced in 2006 was applied for the first time. A transitional provision set a 25 per cent quota for 2008 increasing to 35 per cent women candidates in 2012. Approximately one third of the registered candidates were women. Five candidates registered for the seat reserved for the Hungarian minority while four ran for the one reserved for the Italian minority.

The SD and the SDS in coalition with the NSi were the major parties in the 2008 election campaign. The DeSUS led by the Minister of Defence Mr. Karl Erjavec declared that it would align itself with whichever party won the election. Mr. Bojan Srot's SLS formed a coalition with the Youth Party of Slovenia (SMS) led by Mr. Darko Krajnc. The Slovenian National Party (SNS six seats) led by Mr. Zmago Jelincic stood alone.

The main election issues were taxes housing and border issues with Croatia.

Prime Minister Jansa promised to cut corporate taxes as well as income tax. He emphasized that the latter concerned both low and high income citizens. The SD criticized the SDS led government for failing to curb inflation. The SD leader promised to introduce tax relief for citizens earning the minimum wage while applying a higher tax rate on luxury goods.

The SD and the SDS both pledged to create a fund to help young families interested in buying their first home. The SD promised to allocate 10 per cent of GDP to health care while reducing defence spending.

Slovenia and Croatia have had several disputes over their borders since they became independent States in particular over the Bay of Piran (a small body of water in the northern Adriatic Sea some 20 square kilometers in size) which gives direct access to international waters. Prime Minister Jansa said his coalition would try to resolve the border issues before Croatia joined the European Union (EU). SD leader Pahor replied that border issues should not be a criterion for Croatia's accession and added that he would not seek a referendum on the issue.

The opinion polls in late August indicated strong support for the ruling coalition. In early September however the election campaign was rocked by allegations that the Prime Minister had received a share of a 21 million euro bribe from a Finnish firm over Slovenia's biggest defence contract in 2006. The Prime Minister denied these allegations calling them absurd.

A week before polling day the SD ZARES and the LDS announced their intention to form a coalition government after the elections. Former president Milan Kucan endorsed the coalition plans.

63.1 per cent of 1.6 million registered voters turned out at the polls up from 60.64 per cent recorded in 2004.

Seven parties surpassed the 4 per cent threshold to win parliamentary representation. The final results gave the opposition SD ZARES LDS coalition a total of 43 seats. The SDS came in second with 28 seats but its partner the NSi failed to win any parliamentary representation.

Despite the quota the number of women members increased only by one bringing the total to 12. Only 41 outgoing members were re elected. Several veteran MPs who had held their seats since the country gained independence in 1991 were voted out. Among the members of the outgoing government only the Prime Minister and two ministers were returned to parliament.

On 15 October the newly elected National Assembly held its first session and elected Mr. Pavel Gantar (ZARES) as its new Speaker.

On 3 November President Türk nominated Mr. Pahor to become Prime Minister. On 7 November the National Assembly elected Mr. Pahor as Prime Minister. Mr. Pahor's coalition government comprising the SD the ZARES the LDS and the DeSUS was sworn in on 21 November.
STATISTICS
Voter turnout
Round no 121 September 2008
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes
1'696'437
1'070'523 (63.1%)

1'051'827
Notes The number of ballots cast was 1 070 424 of which 18 597 were invalidated.
Distribution of votes
Round no 1
Political Group Candidates Votes %
Social Democrats 320'248 30.45
Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) 307'735 29.26
"For Real-New Politics" Party (ZARES) 98'526 9.37
Democratic Party of Pensioners of Slovenia (DeSUS) 78'353 7.45
Slovenian National Party (SNS) 56'832 5.40
Slovenian People's Party (SLS) - Youth Party of Slovenia (SMS) 54'809 5.21
Liberal Democracy of Slovenia (LDS) 54'771 5.21
Representatives of ethnic minorities
Distribution of seats
Round no 1
Political Group Total
Social Democrats 29
Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) 28
"For Real-New Politics" Party (ZARES) 9
Democratic Party of Pensioners of Slovenia (DeSUS) 7
Slovenian National Party (SNS) 5
Slovenian People's Party (SLS) - Youth Party of Slovenia (SMS) 5
Liberal Democracy of Slovenia (LDS) 5
Representatives of ethnic minorities 2
Distribution of seats according to sex
Men
Women
Percent of women
78
12
13.33%
Distribution of seats according to age
Distribution of seats according to profession
Comments
Note on the distribution of seats:
The "Representatives of ethnic minorities" refers to members representing Slovenia's Italian and Hungarian communities who are elected in separate elections.

Distribution of seats according to age
Under 30 years: 1
30 to 39 years: 12
40 to 49 years: 27
50 to 59 years: 34
60 to 69 years: 14
Over 70 years: 2

Sources:
- National Assembly (02.10.2008 01.01.2010)
- http://volitve.gov.si/dz2008/en/index.html
- STA news agency

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