The Bureau of the Congress CG/BUR23(2019)INF081 25 January 2019 Ad-hoc assessment mission Local elections in the Republic of Slovenia (18 November 2018) Submitted for information to the Bureau of the Congress on 29 January 2019 1 This document is classified as confidential until it has been examined by the Bureau of the Congress. Tel ► +33 (0)3 8841 2110 Fax ► +33 (0)3 8841 2719 [email protected] CG/BUR23(2019)INF08 As part of its election observation, the Congress conducted an ad-hoc assessment of the local elections held on 18 November 2018 in Slovenia. Congress Vice-President Robert GRUMAN was charged with reporting the conclusions of this visit to the Bureau. * * * * * * * * I. Introduction 1. Following an invitation from Mr Rudi MEDVED, the Minister of Public Administration of Slovenia, received on 24 October 2018, the Bureau of the Congress decided, due to the budgetary situation and the current shortage of staff, in view of the first round of Local Elections in Slovenia of 18 November 2018, to deploy a limited Ad-hoc Mission in the frame of its electoral activities. Headed by Congress Vice-President Robert GRUMAN, Romania (EPP-CCE, R), the delegation involved Ms Rosaleen O’GRADY, Ireland (ILDG, R), Ms Kateryna MARCHENKO, Ukraine (SOC, L), and two members of the Secretariat. 2. The Ad-hoc Mission was carried out from 16 to 18 November 2018. Prior to the Election Day, the Congress Delegation met with various interlocutors, including representatives of diplomatic missions and representatives of the Ministry of Public Administration, the State Election Commission (SEC) and several political parties. Additionally, the delegation held meetings with civil society organisations and the media as well as with representatives of recognised national minorities. On Election Day, two Congress teams were deployed to different municipalities in and around Ljubljana and in the east of the country. They visited some 30 polling stations. The following Information Report focuses specifically on issues arising out of exchanges during meetings held with Congress interlocutors in the context of the 18 November 2018 Local Elections in Slovenia and on observations made on the Election Day. The Congress wishes to thank all of those who met with the delegation for their open and constructive dialogue. II. Political Context 3. The Republic of Slovenia is a Parliamentary democracy with a bicameral Parliament, consisting of the National Assembly and the National Council. The executive power is vested in the Government which holds the confidence of the National Assembly. The Head of State is the President who is elected by popular vote every five years based on a majority system with a possible second round. Since 22 December 2012, Mr Borut PAHOR has been President of the Republic of Slovenia, re-elected in the Presidential election of 2017. 4. The National Assembly (Državni zbor) consists of 90 members, elected in general elections for a four- year term by proportional representation system. The most recent elections for members of the National Assembly were held on 3 June 2018 and resulted in formation of a new Government led by the Prime Minister Marjan ŠAREC. The Upper House of Parliament, the National Council (Državni svet), is a representative body for social, economic, professional and local interests. The National Council has 40 members elected for five years by the electoral colleges.2 5. The 2018 Early Parliamentary Elections were the third consecutive snap elections in the country. Elections were called after the resignation of the Prime Minister who resigned in reaction to the judgement of the Supreme Court which annulled the results of the 2017 referendum on the construction of a new railway connecting two major cities. These elections resulted in a minority Government formed by a broad 2 The National Council consists of 22 representatives of local interests, six representatives of non-commercial activities, four representatives of employers, four of employees and four representatives of farmers, crafts, trades and independent professionals. The 22 representatives of local interests are elected by local communities. A maximum of 22 voting units, each covering one or more local communities, may be formed for the election of representatives of local interests. 2/11 CG/BUR23(2019)INF08 coalition of smaller parties. While the Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) won the elections, it failed to form the Government as other parties refused to go into a coalition with a populist partner. 6. The 2018 Local Elections were the first elections after the formation of the new Government. The pre- election period was clearly marked by the impacts of the Early Parliamentary Elections. Candidates representing all nine Parliamentary parties as well as several non-Parliamentary candidates ran for local mandates. There were numerous candidates running on independent local lists. While there was a clear trend on the right-wing spectrum that political parties were joining forces and supported common candidates, the situation was not so obvious on the left-side of the spectrum. By many political observers these elections were seen as an important step prior to the upcoming elections for the EU Parliament. 7. The previous local elections held in 2014 were marked by low turnout when 45.23% of voters were reported to cast their ballots for the first round and only 42.5% in the second round run-off for Mayors. Interestingly, 115 out of 212 elected Mayors participated in the 2014 elections not as members of any political party but as independent candidates or with the support of groups of voters. This signals a strong anti-party sentiment on local level in the country. III. Administrative structure of local governance 8. The Constitution of Slovenia guarantees the principle of local self-government. Slovenia has a single tier of local government composed of 212 Municipal Units (občina). This number includes 11 Urban Municipalities (mestna občina). There is also a structured Sub-Municipal level of 6.035 settlements. Municipalities are the only bodies of local self-government. They are headed by a Mayor (župan) who is directly elected for a term of four years. The Municipal Council (občinski svet) is the Municipality’s deliberative and decision-making body. 9. The Capital City of Slovenia is Ljubljana and it has constitutional recognition due to which the city fulfils multiple roles – as a City, a Capital City, and an Urban Municipality. Ljubljana is the largest city in Slovenia with a population of 287.000 or approximately 14% of the total population of the country. 10. Slovenia is characterised by a large number (more than 6.000) of smaller settlements, with 90 % of them having fewer than 500 inhabitants. Only seven towns have populations exceeding 20.000 inhabitants. Out of Slovenia’s total population, 49.7% are urban residents demonstrating a rather high level of urbanisation of the country. IV. Legal framework and electoral system 11. The Local Elections Act regulates elections for Municipal Councils, Mayors and Councils of Districts, Villages and Urban Communities. The Act was last amended in December 2017. The amendment introduced that regular local elections are held on the same date (third Sunday of November) every four years. The fixed date applied for the first time to the 2018 Local Elections. 12. Under the Local Elections Act, Mayors are elected directly for a period of four years. The candidate who receives the absolute majority of votes cast is elected Mayor. If no candidate receives an absolute majority of votes, a second round is conducted two weeks later between the two candidates receiving the most votes. The first round of regular Mayoral elections takes place at the same time as regular Municipal Council elections. The second round was scheduled for 2 December. 13. Municipal Councils consist of 7 to 45 members depending on the size of the Municipality. The Local Elections Act provides two types of electoral systems for Municipal Councillors – the simple majority system and the proportional representation system. According to the first, candidates who receive the majority of votes are elected, whilst the latter envisages candidates’ lists in electoral units. In this case, voters may only vote for one list of candidates and choose a candidate to whom they give preference in the election. If a Municipal Council has fewer than 12 members, Councillors are elected by simple majority of votes. 3/11 CG/BUR23(2019)INF08 Likewise, Councillors in Municipalities with mixed ethnicities are always elected by simple majority. Voters in the rest of Municipalities with more than 12 Councillors vote by proportional representation system. 14. The local election procedures have introduced a gender mainstreaming policy as well. The Local Elections Act states that each list of candidates must include at least 40% of candidates of the opposite gender, while places on the first half of the list shall be allocated alternately by gender. The 40% quota was for the first time fully implemented in the 2014 Local Elections. In 2014, there were 1,069 elected women Councillors (a share of 31.8%), compared to 730 women elected in 2010 (22% share). V. Election administration 15. The election administration in Slovenia consists of three layers of election management bodies: the National Electoral Commission, Municipal Electoral Commissions and Election Boards. The December 2017 amendments to the Local Elections Act simplified the system by reducing the number of election administration levels to three as a consequence of the protracted process and delays during the count in the 2014 Local Elections. 16. The National Electoral Commission (NEC) is a permanent body whose members are appointed every four years by the National Assembly. The NEC is composed of a President, a Vice-President, five members and their deputies. The President and the Vice-President are appointed from among the Supreme Court judges through an open and competitive recruitment process, two members and two deputies from among legal experts, and the remaining members on a proposal from the political parties represented in the National Assembly.