Slovenian's President Borut Pahor has dismissed the parliament and called early parliamentary elections for June 3, according to a statement issued on April 14. The move comes in response to Prime Minister Miro Cerar having announced a month earlier he would resign. 

Cerar stepped down on March 14 after the Supreme Court annulled a September 2017 referendum giving the go-ahead to the country’s largest infrastructure project because of the use of budget funds to finance the government’s campaign.

Regular parliamentary elections were to be held in mid or late June. Pahor noted that by law, early elections shall be held no later than two months after the dissolution of parliament.

“This gave me the opportunity to choose May 27, June 3 or June 10 as the date of voting. When deciding on the choice of date, I am bound only to constitutional and statutory deadlines. Nevertheless, I consulted with the heads of deputy groups and legal experts on the choice on several occasions in both formal and informal settings,” Pahor said.

He said he had rejected the holding elections on June 10 as it would be the same day as the regular election, which would be problematic since Cerar’s resignation had brought significant change already and limited the power of the government.

Pahor said he had also rejected the possibility of a May 27 vote as it would mean having an election campaign beginning during the public holidays around May Day, which could lead to challenges at the Constitutional Court.

“I decided for June 3. In assessing all the reasons for my decision, this date proved to be the most appropriate,” Pahor said.

“I believe in democracy. I believe in the freely expressed will of people, whatever it is. Elections are the best way for people to express their political will by participating in elections and voting for those they trust,” Pahor added, pledging to remain neutral during the election race.

The election campaign officially starts on May 3. From April 16 on, political parties can submit their candidacies for seats in Slovenian parliament’s National Assembly.

The Slovenian parliament is bicameral, composed of the National Assembly and the National Council. It is characterised by an asymmetric duality, as the Constitution does not accord equal powers to both chambers. The National Assembly is comprised of 90 deputies, with one representative of each of the Hungarian and Italian minorities. The deputies are elected for a four-year term.

The latest Slovenian coalition government was composed of Cerar’s Party of Modern Center (31 seats), the Democratic Party of Pensioners in Slovenia ((10 seats) and the Social Democrats (6 seats).

Among the opposition is the strongest Slovenian Democratic Party led by former PM Janez Jansa and it has 21 seats. There are also six MP’s of United Left, five from the New Slovenia-Christian Democrats and four of the Alliance of Alenka Bratusek. As always, one representative each of the Hungarian and Italian minorities sit in the Slovenian parliament.