# 2023 Slovak parliamentary election

Early parliamentary elections were held in the Slovak Republic on 30 September 2023 to elect members of the National Council. Regular elections were scheduled to be held in 2024. However, on 15 December 2022 the government lost a no-confidence vote. Subsequently, the National Council amended the Constitution so that an early election could be held on 30 September 2023. This was the first snap election in the country since 2012.
The left-wing populist and social conservative Direction – Social Democracy (Smer-SD), led by former Prime Minister Robert Fico, emerged as the largest party, winning 42 seats. The social-liberal and pro-European Progressive Slovakia (PS) came in second, with 32 seats. Former Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini's social-democratic Voice – Social Democracy (Hlas-SD), which split from Smer-SD in 2020, came in third with 27 seats. The conservative OĽaNO and its allies won 16 seats, less than a quarter of their total in the 2020 election. The Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) and the right-wing populist Slovak National Party (SNS) re-entered the National Council after failing to achieve the vote threshold in 2020, winning twelve and ten seats respectively. The classical liberal Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) won eleven seats, tying the 2012 election as their worst result since the party's founding.
As no single party or alliance reached the 76 seats needed for a majority, a coalition government was needed. A coalition government of Smer-SD, Hlas-SD, and SNS was formed. A new government with Robert Fico as prime minister was sworn in on 25 October 2023.

## Background

Prior to the previous election, the Slovak Republic experienced a period of political turbulence, triggered by the murder of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová in 2018. The incident led to widespread protests and the resignation of then-Prime Minister Robert Fico.
The election itself was won by the movement of Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OĽaNO) led by Igor Matovič. The party emerged as the victor, gaining over a quarter of the popular vote, which translated to 53 seats in the 150-seat National Council. OĽaNO formed a coalition government with several other parties, ending the long-standing dominance of Direction – Social Democracy (SMER–SD).

## Electoral system

The 150 members of the National Council were elected by proportional representation in a single nationwide constituency with an electoral threshold of 5% for single parties, 7% for coalitions of two or three parties, and 10% for coalitions of four or more parties. The election used the open list system, with seats allocated using largest remainder method with Hagenbach-Bischoff quota. Voters were able to cast up to four preferential votes for candidates of the selected party.
All citizens of the Slovak Republic were allowed to vote except for citizens under 18 years of age, felons in prison convicted of serious offenses, and people declared ineligible to perform legal acts by court. Voters abroad on election day were allowed to vote by mail. All citizens 21 years of age or older on the election day and are permanent residents of Slovakia, were allowed to run as candidates except for prisoners, convicted felons, and those declared ineligible to perform legal acts by court. All participating parties must register 90 days before election day and pay a deposit of €17,000 which would be refunded to all parties gaining at least 3% of the votes.
Voters not present in their electoral district at the time of the elections were allowed to request a voting certificate (voličský preukaz), which allowed them to vote in any district regardless of their residency. Voters abroad on election day were allowed to request a postal vote. According to the Central Election Committee, approximately 72,000 citizens of the Slovak Republic living abroad had requested a postal vote for the election. The deadline for requests passed on 9 August 2023.

## Political parties and lead candidates

Parties on the ballot :
| # | List | List | List | Main ideology | Lead candidate | Previous election (2020) | Previous election (2020) | 2023 |
| # | List | List | List | Main ideology | Lead candidate | Votes (%) | Seats | Seats |
| 3 | | Progressive Slovakia | PS | Social liberalism | Michal Šimečka | 7.0% | 0 / 150 | 1 / 150 |
| 5 | | Coalition OĽaNO–Christian Union–For the People | OĽaNO–KÚ–ZĽ | Populism | Igor Matovič | 30.8% | 65 / 150 | 37 / 150 |
| 12 | | Freedom and Solidarity | SaS | Conservative liberalism | Richard Sulík | 6.2% | 13 / 150 | 19 / 150 |
| 15 | | Slovak National Party | SNS | Ultranationalism | Andrej Danko | 3.2% | 0 / 150 | 3 / 150 |
| 16 | | Direction – Social Democracy | Smer | Social democracy | Robert Fico | 18.3% | 38 / 150 | 27 / 150 |
| 17 | | Voice – Social Democracy | Hlas | Social democracy | Peter Pellegrini | — | — | 11 / 150 |
| 23 | | Christian Democratic Movement | KDH | Christian democracy | Milan Majerský | 4.7% | 0 / 150 | 0 / 150 |

## Television debates

2023 Slovak parliamentary election :
| Date | Broadcasters | P Present S Surrogate NI Not invited A Absent I Invited N No debate | P Present S Surrogate NI Not invited A Absent I Invited N No debate | P Present S Surrogate NI Not invited A Absent I Invited N No debate | P Present S Surrogate NI Not invited A Absent I Invited N No debate | P Present S Surrogate NI Not invited A Absent I Invited N No debate | P Present S Surrogate NI Not invited A Absent I Invited N No debate | P Present S Surrogate NI Not invited A Absent I Invited N No debate | P Present S Surrogate NI Not invited A Absent I Invited N No debate | P Present S Surrogate NI Not invited A Absent I Invited N No debate | P Present S Surrogate NI Not invited A Absent I Invited N No debate | P Present S Surrogate NI Not invited A Absent I Invited N No debate | P Present S Surrogate NI Not invited A Absent I Invited N No debate | P Present S Surrogate NI Not invited A Absent I Invited N No debate | P Present S Surrogate NI Not invited A Absent I Invited N No debate | P Present S Surrogate NI Not invited A Absent I Invited N No debate | P Present S Surrogate NI Not invited A Absent I Invited N No debate | P Present S Surrogate NI Not invited A Absent I Invited N No debate | P Present S Surrogate NI Not invited A Absent I Invited N No debate | P Present S Surrogate NI Not invited A Absent I Invited N No debate | P Present S Surrogate NI Not invited A Absent I Invited N No debate | P Present S Surrogate NI Not invited A Absent I Invited N No debate | P Present S Surrogate NI Not invited A Absent I Invited N No debate | P Present S Surrogate NI Not invited A Absent I Invited N No debate | P Present S Surrogate NI Not invited A Absent I Invited N No debate | P Present S Surrogate NI Not invited A Absent I Invited N No debate |
| Date | Broadcasters | OĽANO | Smer–SD | SR | ĽSNS | PS | D | SaS | KDH | Aliancia | MF | SNS | Modrí, Híd | Hlas–SD | REP | Piráti | PRINCÍP | SOS | KSS | VB | SPRAVODLIVOSŤ | SHO | MySlovensko | SRDCE | SDKÚ-DS | KARMA |
| 3 Sep 2023 | JOJ 24 (150th candidates) | P Matovič | P Bekmatov | P Klus | NI | A Kusá | NI | P Hlina | P F. Majerský | NI | NI | P Huliak | NI | A L. Pellegrini | P Mazurek | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI |
| 19 Sep 2023 | Jednotka/RS | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | S Kaliaš | S Smolka | NI | P Stanovič | NI | NI | P Panenka | NI | NI | P Szaboová |
| 20 Sep 2023 | TV JOJ/JOJ 24 | P Matovič | NI | P Kollár | NI | NI | NI | NI | P Majerský | NI | NI | P Danko | NI | NI | P Uhrík | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI |
| 20 Sep 2023 | Jednotka/RS | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | P Šubová | NI | NI | P Hrdlička | NI | P Chlebo | P Švec | NI | NI | P Rybárik | NI |
| 21 Sep 2023 | TV JOJ/JOJ 24 | NI | P Fico | NI | NI | P Šimečka | NI | P Sulík | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | P Pellegrini | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI |
| 21 Sep 2023 | Jednotka/RS | NI | NI | NI | S Schlosár | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | S Rajtár | NI | S Schwarzbacher | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | S Tokár | NI | NI |
| 22 Sep 2023 | TV Markíza | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | S Kaliaš | P Hanuliak | NI | P Stanovič | P Chlebo | P Švec | NI | NI | NI | P Szaboová |
| 23 Sep 2023 | TV Markíza | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | P Šubová | NI | NI | P Hrdlička | NI | NI | NI | P Panenka | S Kováč | P Rybárik | NI |
| 24 Sep 2023 | TV Markíza | NI | NI | NI | S Kotleba | NI | S Letanovská | NI | NI | P Forró | P Šimon | NI | P Dzurinda | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI |
| 25 Sep 2023 | Jednotka/RS | P Jurinová | NI | NI | NI | NI | S Naď | NI | NI | S Gyimesi | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI |
| 25 Sep 2023 | TA3 | S Remišová | NI | S Krajniak | NI | NI | NI | NI | P Majerský | P Forró | NI | P Danko | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI |
| 25 Sep 2023 | TV Markíza | P Matovič | A Fico | P Kollár | NI | P Šimečka | NI | P Sulík | P Majerský | NI | NI | P Danko | NI | S Tomáš | P Uhrík | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI |
| 26 Sep 2023 (cancelled) | TV Markíza | N Matovič | N Fico | NI | NI | N Šimečka | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | N Pellegrini | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI |
| 26 Sep 2023 | Jednotka/RS | NI | NI | S Pčolinský | NI | NI | NI | S Gröhling | S Hajko | NI | NI | P Danko | NI | NI | S Mazurek | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI |
| 26 Sep 2023 | TA3 | NI | P Fico | NI | NI | P Šimečka | NI | P Sulík | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | P Pellegrini | P Uhrík | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI |
| 27 Sep 2023 | Jednotka/RS | NI | P Fico | NI | NI | P Šimečka | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | P Pellegrini | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI | NI |

## Issues and developments

2023 election issues included high inflation, Slovakia's position on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the related global energy crisis, COVID-19, internal fights within the previous government, corruption scandals and immigration; questions of rights and values (particularly LGBTQ+ issues) were covered during the campaign by Al Jazeera English, BBC and Pravda.
By the week of the election, popularity polls indicated that the two strongest parties were the Progressive Slovakia (led by pro-European Michal Šimečka, a member of the European Parliament (EP) since 2019, and EP Vice-President since 2022, who has committed to maintaining support for Ukraine) and Smer-SD (headed by Robert Fico, three-time former prime minister, who has committed to ending Slovakia's support for Ukraine); however, neither appeared to be commanding a majority, and the BBC projected neither would top 20% of the vote, so each would have to attempt to build a coalition with other parties to achieve the majority needed to rule. Consequently, as many as 10 parties could wind up in the government.
The third-largest party, which tipped the balance in favor of Robert Fico, is Hlas–SD (Voice), the moderate-left party of Peter Pellegrini (formerly of Smer-SD, and former prime minister, 2018–20).

## Results

| | Direction – Social Democracy | 681,017 | 22.95 | 42 | +4 |
| | Progressive Slovakia | 533,136 | 17.96 | 32 | +32 |
| | Voice – Social Democracy | 436,415 | 14.70 | 27 | New |
| | OĽaNO and Friends | 264,137 | 8.90 | 16 | –48 |
| | Christian Democratic Movement | 202,515 | 6.82 | 12 | +12 |
| | Freedom and Solidarity | 187,645 | 6.32 | 11 | –2 |
| | Slovak National Party | 166,995 | 5.63 | 10 | +10 |
| | Republic | 141,099 | 4.75 | 0 | New |
| | Alliance | 130,183 | 4.39 | 0 | 0 |
| | Democrats | 87,006 | 2.93 | 0 | 0 |
| | We Are Family | 65,673 | 2.21 | 0 | –17 |
| | People's Party Our Slovakia | 25,003 | 0.84 | 0 | –17 |
| | Communist Party of Slovakia | 9,867 | 0.33 | 0 | New |
| | Pirate Party – Slovakia | 9,358 | 0.32 | 0 | New |
| | Modrí, Most–Híd | 7,935 | 0.27 | 0 | New |
| | Hungarian Forum | 3,486 | 0.12 | 0 | New |
| | MySlovensko [sk] | 2,786 | 0.09 | 0 | New |
| | Karma | 2,407 | 0.08 | 0 | New |
| | Common Citizens of Slovakia [sk] | 2,401 | 0.08 | 0 | New |
| | HEART Patriots and Pensioners – Slovak National Unity | 2,315 | 0.08 | 0 | New |
| | Princíp [sk] | 1,817 | 0.06 | 0 | New |
| | Spravodlivosť | 1,335 | 0.04 | 0 | 0 |
| | Slovak Revival Movement [sk] | 1,332 | 0.04 | 0 | 0 |
| | Patriotic Bloc [sk] | 1,262 | 0.04 | 0 | New |
| | Slovak Democratic and Christian Union – Democratic Party | 771 | 0.03 | 0 | New |
| Total | Total | 2,967,896 | 100.00 | 150 | 0 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 2,967,896 | 98.83 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 35,052 | 1.17 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 3,002,948 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 4,388,872 | 68.42 | | |
| Source: Results ||||||

### Results by parties

| Group | Party | Party | Seats | +/– |
| Direction – Social Democracy | Direction – Social Democracy | Direction – Social Democracy | 42 | +4 |
| Progressive Slovakia | Progressive Slovakia | Progressive Slovakia | 32 | +32 |
| Voice – Social Democracy | Voice – Social Democracy | Voice – Social Democracy | 27 | +27 |
| Slovakia–Christian Union–For the People | | Slovakia | 12 | –33 |
| Slovakia–Christian Union–For the People | | Christian Union | 2 | –2 |
| Slovakia–Christian Union–For the People | | For the People | 1 | –11 |
| Slovakia–Christian Union–For the People | | NOVA | 1 | –1 |
| Freedom and Solidarity | | Freedom and Solidarity | 10 | –2 |
| Freedom and Solidarity | | Civic Conservative Party | 1 | 0 |
| Christian Democratic Movement | Christian Democratic Movement | Christian Democratic Movement | 12 | +12 |
| Slovak National Party | | National Coalition | 3 | +3 |
| Slovak National Party | | Life – National Party | 3 | 0 |
| Slovak National Party | | Slovak National Party | 1 | +1 |
| Slovak National Party | Independents | Independents | 3 | +3 |

### Results by region

| Region | Smer–SD | PS | Hlas–SD | OĽaNO and Friends | KDH | SaS | SNS | Republic | Alliance | Democrats | We Are Family | People's Party Our Slovakia | KSS | Other parties |
| Bratislava Region | 18.54 | 31.00 | 10.36 | 6.17 | 4.90 | 12.50 | 4.31 | 3.14 | 0.91 | 4.43 | 1.78 | 0.57 | 0.20 | 1.08 |
| Trnava Region | 22.01 | 17.07 | 12.11 | 9.40 | 4.56 | 5.36 | 4.43 | 4.38 | 12.69 | 2.92 | 2.19 | 0.81 | 0.40 | 1.56 |
| Trenčín Region | 29.47 | 16.63 | 16.40 | 5.93 | 5.44 | 5.63 | 7.28 | 5.45 | 0.03 | 2.84 | 2.22 | 1.06 | 0.46 | 1.03 |
| Nitra Region | 25.31 | 14.42 | 14.40 | 7.47 | 4.06 | 4.80 | 4.51 | 4.46 | 13.91 | 2.19 | 2.01 | 0.80 | 0.26 | 1.24 |
| Žilina Region | 25.79 | 15.51 | 16.04 | 6.90 | 9.38 | 5.56 | 8.11 | 5.61 | 0.02 | 2.80 | 2.02 | 0.96 | 0.34 | 0.89 |
| Banská Bystrica Region | 22.89 | 14.96 | 19.76 | 7.41 | 4.29 | 5.14 | 6.53 | 5.18 | 5.17 | 2.40 | 2.73 | 1.33 | 0.43 | 1.67 |
| Prešov Region | 22.04 | 10.83 | 16.16 | 14.78 | 14.07 | 4.10 | 5.73 | 5.22 | 0.07 | 2.65 | 2.36 | 0.63 | 0.31 | 0.98 |
| Košice Region | 21.10 | 14.68 | 15.08 | 13.46 | 6.80 | 5.74 | 4.38 | 4.97 | 5.44 | 2.98 | 2.75 | 0.76 | 0.33 | 1.41 |
| Foreign | 6.10 | 61.70 | 2.46 | 3.81 | 3.31 | 10.80 | 3.79 | 3.20 | 0.47 | 2.50 | 0.55 | 0.38 | 0.04 | 0.76 |
| Total | 22.94 | 17.96 | 14.70 | 8.89 | 6.82 | 6.32 | 5.62 | 4.75 | 4.38 | 2.93 | 2.21 | 0.84 | 0.33 | 1.16 |
* SMER
* PS
* HLAS
* OĽANO
* KDH
* SaS
* SNS
* REPUBLIKA
* ALIANCIA
* SME RODINA

## Aftermath

As analysts predicted, Peter Pellegrini's Hlas-SD played the role of kingmaker in the "jockeying" that characterized the election's aftermath. Two viable coalitions emerged: one consisting of Fico's Smer-SD, Hlas-SD, and SNS; the other of Hlas-SD, PS, KDH, and SaS. On 2 October 2023, two days after the election, president Zuzana Čaputová tasked Fico, as the leader of the now-largest parliamentary party, with forming a government within 14 days. On 3 October, she held "informal discussions" with PS's leader Michal Šimečka about the possibility of a PS-led coalition before meeting with Pellegrini and KDH's Milan Majerský. Following this meeting, Pellegrini stated that his party was not ruling out either coalition.
According to SNS leader Andrej Danko, the ensuing negotiations revolved around Pellegrini's future role. Fico allegedly offered Pellegrini the role of Speaker of the National Council, while Šimečka was willing to support Pellegrini for Prime Minister in exchange for PS receiving the Ministry of the Interior. On 10 October, Hlas-SD announced that it had rejected PS's offer. On 11 October, Smer-SD, Hlas-SD, and SNS ratified their coalition agreement, according to which they were to receive 6, 7, and 3 ministerial portfolios, respectively.
On 12 October, the Party of European Socialists (PES) suspended Smer-SD and Hlas-SD over their plans to enter into coalition with SNS, which the PES views as a "radical-right party." One week later, on 19 October, Čaputová announced she would not approve the coalition government's nominee for Minister of Environment, Rudolf Huliak (SNS), due to his avowed climate change denialism. This delayed the swearing-in of the new government. After the coalition partners replaced Huliak with Tomáš Taraba (also SNS) as their nominee for the post, Čaputová accepted the coalition's government. She swore in the new government, with Fico at its helm, on 25 October.