Slovak Financial Law News 2004

New Act on Elections into the Slovak Parliament

Act No. 333/2004 Coll. on Elections into the National Council of the Slovak Republic

New Act on Elections into the Slovak Parliament (the ``Elections Act'') newly regulates the conditions of the right to vote and the right to be elected to the Slovak Parliament, evidence and lists of electors, division of the territory of the Slovak Republic into one constituency and circuits, composition and competences of the electoral bodies and the manner of nomination of their members, registration and requisites of list of candidates of political parties, movements and coalitions thereof (``political party''), broadcasting of political advertising, placement of electoral posters as well as course of elections and manners of voting by the electorate.

This Act also regulates determination and announcement of elections' results, procedure and conditions of assignment of mandates to political parties as well as to candidates within particular political parties, measures for procurement of elections and regime of repayment of particular expenditures connected with the elections.

The Elections Act incorporates the duty of municipalities to keep a permanent list of electors, into which the municipality inscribes those electors that are domiciled on the territory of the Slovak Republic as well as to co-operate with state administration bodies for the purposes of continuous changes to be registered therein. The territory of the Slovak Republic forms one constituency.

As regards the broadcasting of political advertising in the media, its duration is set out including its equal division in radio and television broadcasting between candidate political parties. Slovak Radio and Slovak Television (as public institutions) are obliged to reserve at maximum 30 minutes for a candidate political party, however not more than 10 hours of broadcasting time in total for the purposes of political advertising and further 10 hours of broadcasting time for purposes of political discussions with representatives of candidate political parties.

The above issue forms entitlement and not a duty of private broadcasters (unlike in case of Slovak Radio or Slovak Television). The consent of the Council for Retransmission and Broadcasting of the Slovak Republic is required for broadcasting of such discussions by a private broadcaster.

In case of Slovak Radio and Slovak Television, a candidate political party must exercise its right for broadcasting of its political advertising at the latest 5 days prior to the day of commencement of political advertising broadcast, otherwise this right shall cease to exist. The Elections Act explicitly states that the political parties are fully liable for the content of political advertising.

The Elections Act, in comparison with the existing legal regulation, extends the application of the right to vote through the possibility to vote granted to citizens of the Slovak Republic who are outside the territory of the Slovak Republic at the time of elections. The above possibility recognises the institutes of so called voting through post by (i) electors domiciled abroad, and also (ii) electors who are domiciled on the territory of the Slovak Republic, however stay abroad at the time of elections. Further, the conditions of performance of the right to vote in the above manners are set out.

The Elections Act also increases the importance of preferential votes with respect to assignment of mandates to candidates of elected political parties. The mandate shall be assigned in preference to such candidate who obtained at least 3 percents of preferential votes from the overall number of valid votes given to the respective political party that nominated him/her.

Expenditures connected with elections shall be repaid from the state budget apart from costs connected with delivery of votes through post that are to be borne by the electors themselves. Each political party bears the costs connected with broadcasting of political advertising itself.

Political party that obtained at least 3 percents from the overall number of valid votes given within the territory of the Slovak Republic shall receive from the state budget for each such vote a financial contribution in the amount of 1 % from the average nominal monthly salary in the economy for the calendar year preceding the year in which the elections into the Slovak Parliament take place.

The Elections Act abolished the Act No 80/1990 Coll. on Elections into the Slovak National Council as amended. 

This Act became effective from 1 October 2004.

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