SLOVAK REPUBLIC - EARLY PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS 30 September 2023

LEGAL FRAMEWORK AND ELECTORAL SYSTEM Parliamentary elections are primarily governed by the 1992 Constitution, the 2014 Act on the Conditions for the Exercise of the Right to Vote and on the Amendments to Certain Acts (Elections Act), the 2014 Act on Campaigning, and the 2005 Act on Political Parties and Political Movements (Political Parties Act). [...] However, the extensive involvement of the MoI in nearly all stages of the electoral process, in practice, may undermine the ability of the SEC to fulfil its mandate as an independent body, as stipulated by law.11 The competencies and activities of the MoI and the SEC should be clearly defined and delineated in a way that permits the SEC to operate in an institutionally and functionally independent. [...] The SEC did not collect detailed information on the composition of the lower-level commissions and was thus unable to provide data on the number of members, their political affiliation, and the breakdown by sex for the composition of DECs and PECs.13 Sex-disaggregated data on the election administration should be collected and published. [...] In February 2023, the RTVS Act was amended, replacing the license fee-based model with direct financing from the state budget in the form of a statutory share of the country’s GDP.55 However, following these elections, the new government decided to reduce the portion of the budget allocated to the public broadcaster by 30 per cent.56 The decision to abolish the license fee mechanism was criticised. [...] 76 Article 162 of the Law on the Constitutional Court leaves an ambiguity whether the stipulated 90-day deadline is for the Court to rule on the complaint or to decide on the admissibility of the motion for the commencement of proceedings.