Slovakia flag Slovakia: Economic and Political Overview

The political framework of Slovakia

Political Outline

Current Political Leaders
President: Zuzana Čaputová (since 15 June 2019)
Prime Minister: Robert Fico (since 25 October 2023)
Next Election Dates
Presidential: 2029
National Council: 2027
Main Political Parties
Slovakia has a multi-party system, and parties need to work with each other to form coalition governments. The main political parties in the country are:

- Direction-Social Democracy (Smer-SD): left-wing
- Progressive Slovakia (PS): centre, social-liberalism, pro-environment
- Voice – Social Democracy (HLAS-SD): social-democratic, pro-European
- Slovak National Party (SNS): right-wing, nationalist
- Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OLaNO): catch-all, populist, anti-corruption
- Christian Democratic Movement (KDH): centre-right
- Freedom & Solidarity (SaS): centre-right, described as eurosceptic

Other parties include:

- For the People (Za ľudí): centrist, liberalism
- We Are Family (Sme rodina): centre-right
- Most-Híd: centre, liberal, looks to expand understanding between ethnic Slovaks and Hungarians
- New Majority (NOVA): centre-right, liberal
- Slovak Conservative Party (SKS): centre-right, social conservatism
- Party of the Hungarian Community (SMK-MKP): centre-right , Hungarian minority
- Together (SPOLU): liberal-conservative

Executive Power
The President is the head of state and is elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year term renewable once. Following the parliamentary elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually designated Prime Minister by the President and approved by the National Council with a vote of confidence, to serve a four-year term. The Prime Minister is the head of the Government and enjoys the executive powers, which include implementation of the law in the country and running the day-to-day affairs. The cabinet is appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Prime Minister.
Legislative Power
The legislature is unicameral in Slovakia. The parliament, called National Council, consists of 150 seats; its members are elected on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms. The executive branch of government is directly or indirectly dependent on the support of the National Council, often expressed through a vote of confidence. Legislative power is vested in the National Council. The Prime Minister cannot dissolve the parliament, but the President has the authority to do it if circumstances require so. The people of Slovakia enjoy considerable political rights.
 

Indicator of Freedom of the Press

Definition:

The world rankings, published annually, measures violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position are assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire incorporating the main criteria (44 in total) to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. This questionnaire was sent to partner organisations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).

World Rank:
35/180
 

Indicator of Political Freedom

Definition:

The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.

Ranking:
Free
Political Freedom:
1/7

Political freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Freedom in the World Report, Freedom House

 

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Latest Update: May 2024