1.
Slovenia
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Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a nation state in southern Central Europe, located at the crossroads of main European cultural and trade routes. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and it covers 20,273 square kilometers and has a population of 2.06 million. It is a republic and a member of the United Nations, European Union. The capital and largest city is Ljubljana, additionally, the Dinaric Alps and the Pannonian Plain meet on the territory of Slovenia. The country, marked by a significant biological diversity, is one of the most water-rich in Europe, with a river network, a rich aquifer system. Over half of the territory is covered by forest, the human settlement of Slovenia is dispersed and uneven. Slovenia has historically been the crossroads of South Slavic, Germanic, Romance, although the population is not homogeneous, the majority is Slovene. Slovene is the language throughout the country. Slovenia is a largely secularized country, but its culture and identity have been influenced by Catholicism as well as Lutheranism. The economy of Slovenia is small, open, and export-oriented and has strongly influenced by international conditions. It has been hurt by the Eurozone crisis, started in the late 2000s. The main economic field is services, followed by industry and construction, Historically, the current territory of Slovenia was part of many different state formations, including the Roman Empire and the Holy Roman Empire, followed by the Habsburg Monarchy. In October 1918, the Slovenes exercised self-determination for the first time by co-founding the State of Slovenes, Croats, in December 1918, they merged with the Kingdom of Serbia into the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. During World War II, Slovenia was occupied and annexed by Germany, Italy, and Hungary, with a tiny area transferred to the Independent State of Croatia, in June 1991, after the introduction of multi-party representative democracy, Slovenia split from Yugoslavia and became an independent country. Present-day Slovenia has been inhabited since prehistoric times, and there is evidence of habitation from around 250,000 years ago. A pierced cave bear bone, dating from 43100 ±700 BP, in the 1920s and 1930s, artifacts belonging to the Cro-Magnon such as pierced bones, bone points, and needle were found by archaeologist Srečko Brodar in Potok Cave. It shows that wooden wheels appeared almost simultaneously in Mesopotamia and Europe, in the transition period between the Bronze age to the Iron age, the Urnfield culture flourished. Archaeological remains dating from the Hallstatt period have been found, particularly in southeastern Slovenia, among them a number of situlas in Novo Mesto, in the Iron Age, present-day Slovenia was inhabited by Illyrian and Celtic tribes until the 1st century BC
2.
Politics of Slovenia
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Executive power is exercised by the Government of Slovenia. Legislative power is vested in the National Assembly and in part in the National Council. The judiciary of Slovenia is independent of the executive and the legislature, as a young independent republic, Slovenia pursued economic stabilization and further political openness, while emphasizing its Western outlook and central European heritage. From 1998 to 2000, Slovenia occupied a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council and in that capacity distinguished itself with a constructive, creative, Slovenia has been a member of the United Nations since May 1992 and of the Council of Europe since May 1993. Slovenia signed an agreement with the European Union in 1996 and is a member of the Central European Free Trade Agreement. Slovenia also is a member of all major financial institutions as well as 40 other international organizations, among them the World Trade Organization. However, Slovenia is the only former Communist state that has never carried out lustration, by Constitution of Slovenia the country is a parliamentary democracy and a republic. Within its government, power is shared between an elected president, a prime minister, and an incompletely bicameral legislature. The Constitutional Court has the highest power of review of legislation to ensure its consistency with Slovenias constitution and its nine judges are elected for 9-year terms. In 1997, elections were held to both a president and representatives to Parliaments upper house, the National Council. Milan Kučan, elected President of the Yugoslav Republic of Slovenia in 1990 and he was elected the first President of independent Slovenia in 1992 and again in November 1997 by a comfortable margin. Janez Drnovšek of the center-left Liberal Democratic Party of Slovenia was reelected Prime Minister in the 15 October 2000 parliamentary elections, drnovšeks coalition held an almost two-thirds majority in Parliament. The government, most of the Slovenian polity, shares a common view of the desirability of an association with the West. For all the apparent bitterness that divides left and right wings, Slovenian society is built on consensus, which has converged on a social-democrat model. Political differences tend to have their roots in the roles that groups and individuals played during the years of communist rule and the struggle for independence. As the most prosperous republic of the former Yugoslavia, Slovenia emerged from its brief war of secession in 1991 as an independent nation for the first time in its history. Since that time, the country has made steady but cautious progress toward developing a market economy, economic reforms introduced shortly after independence led to healthy economic growth. Despite the halting pace of reform and signs of slowing GDP growth today, the Slovenians have pursued internal economic restructuring with caution
3.
Constitution of Slovenia
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The Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia is the fundamental law of the Republic of Slovenia. The large part of the work was completed at Podvin Castle near Radovljica in August 1990 under the leadership of the lawyer Peter Jambrek, the Constitution was adopted by the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia on 23 December 1991. In a disputed decision, the Constitutional Court of Slovenia ruled that if any law is to be passed, in the political events that followed the time was running out and changing the constitution seemed like a good escape from status quo. In March 2003, the amendment was passed that enabled for the transmission of certain legal powers to international organisations. This would allow Slovenia to enter the European Union and NATO if it be the will of the people, a referendum on such was held on 23 March 2003. As of December 2012, these have not been established yet
4.
Constitutional Court of Slovenia
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The Constitutional Court of Slovenia is a special court established by the Slovenian Constitution. Since its inception, the Court has been located in the city of Ljubljana, most powers of the Constitutional Court are explicitly determined by the Constitution. The Constitution determines that also other matters may be vested in the Constitutional Court by laws, the Constitutional Court has several strictly defined procedures in which cases may be brought before it. Tito street decision, U-I-109/10 of 3 October 2011
5.
President of Slovenia
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Although entrusted with limited power by the Constitution, in practice the position is mostly ceremonial. Among other things the President is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Slovenian Armed Forces, the office of the President is the Presidential Palace in Ljubljana. The President of Slovenia is directly elected by adult suffrage once every five years. Any Slovenian citizen can run for president, but can hold two consecutive terms in office. Parties KPS/ZKS SDP Independent LDS/GPR SD Independent Prime Minister of Slovenia Official site of the President of the Republic of Slovenia
6.
Borut Pahor
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Borut Pahor is a Slovenian politician who has been President of Slovenia since December 2012. He was Prime Minister of Slovenia from November 2008 to February 2012, a longtime president of the Social Democrats party, Pahor served several terms as a member of the National Assembly and was its chairman from 2000 to 2004. In 2004, Pahor was elected as member of the European Parliament, following the victory of the Social Democrats in the 2008 parliamentary election, Pahor was appointed as Prime Minister. In September 2011, Pahors government lost a confidence vote amidst an economic crisis and he continued to serve as the pro tempore Prime Minister until he was replaced by Janez Janša in February 2012. In June 2012, he announced he would run for the ceremonial office of President of Slovenia. He defeated the incumbent President Danilo Türk in an election, held on 2 December 2012. Pahor was born in Postojna, SR Slovenia and spent his childhood in the town of Nova Gorica and his father died at a young age and his mother, Iva Pahor Martelanc raised him as a single mother. He graduated in 1987 with a thesis on peace negotiations between members of the Non-Aligned Movement and his B. A. thesis was awarded the Student Prešeren Award, the highest academic award for students in Slovenia. According to the Slovenian press, Pahor worked as a model to pay for his university studies. Pahor became involved in party politics already in high school, at the age of 15, he became the chairman of the high school students section of the Alliance of Socialist Youth of Slovenia in Nova Gorica, the autonomous youth branch of the Communist Party. In his college years, Pahor joined the ruling League of Communists of Slovenia, in 1987, he ran for the Presidency of University Section of the Alliance of the Socialist Youth of Slovenia. This internal election was important, as it was the first election in Yugoslavia organized entirely according to democratic principles, in the election, in which the members could freely choose between two antagonistic teams, Pahors team lost to a more liberal fraction. As a consequence, the Youth Alliance emancipated from the control of the Communist Party, due to this shift, Pahor continued his political career in the main apparatus of the Communist Party. He rose to prominence in the late 1980s, when he one of the strongest supporters of the reformist wing of the Communist party, led by Milan Kučan. The same year, he was appointed to the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Slovenia, in 1990, he participated in the Slovenian delegation at the last Congress of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia in Belgrade. As the party continued to support during the whole 1990s, falling under 10% of popular vote in 1996. In 1997, he was elected as its president on a Third way-centrist platform, Pahor was proposed as Minister of Foreign Affairs in this left wing coalition government, but the proposal failed to gain a majority in the parliament. Instead, the Liberal Democracy of Slovenia formed a coalition with the conservative Slovenian Peoples Party, based on a centrist platform, Pahors Social Democratic party remained in opposition, although it supported the government in several key decisions
7.
Miro Cerar
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Miroslav Cerar Jr. is a Slovenian lawyer and politician who has been the 10th Prime Minister of Slovenia since 18 September 2014. In her youth she was twice Youth Champion in gymnastics in Yugoslavia, after she ended her active career, she became a coach and referee. Miro Cerar was a professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Ljubljana, following the resignation of Alenka Bratušek’s government in May 2014, Cerar announced that he would enter national politics. On 2 June 2014, he formed a new party called Stranka Mira Cerarja/Stranka modernega centra. In the July election, Cerars party won a leading total 36 of 90 seats in the parliament, cabinet of Miro Cerar Media related to Miroslav Cerar Jr. at Wikimedia Commons
8.
Government of Slovenia
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The Government of the Republic of Slovenia exercises executive authority in Slovenia pursuant to the Constitution and the laws of Slovenia. It is also the highest administrative authority in Slovenia, the government, headed by the Prime Minister, thus represents the political leadership of the country and makes decisions in the name of the whole executive power. The cabinet was sworn on 18 September 2014, since then the prime minister of the government is Miro Cerar. There are two deputy ministers, Karl Erjavec and Dejan Židan. Both deputy prime ministers are also government ministers, the coalition was formed by three parties, Modern Centre Party, Democratic Party of Pensioners of Slovenia and Social Democrats. At the inauguration the government consisted of 16 ministers, two of them without portfolio, with men, women ratio 9,7, the cabinet had on the day of the naming the highest number of female ministers to date in modern Slovenian history. Slovenian National Council was the first executive council established in Slovenia, the Council named on the 31. of October 1918 the first slovene National government. Knight Josip Pogačnik was named as the first slovene prime minister in the State of Slovenes, Croats, the government, that had full organizational capabilities, took care of peace and order, economy, transport, education, food, science, culture and other public affairs. The Cabinet consisted of 12 departments called poverjeništva, that were led by representatives of all major Slovenian parties at the time, the government was active until 20. January 1919, when it was relieved by the new government of Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, Assembly of Socialist Republic of Slovenia in 1990 accepted a two new acts, that allowed unification of political parties in the Republic and elections to new assemblies. The president of the Assembly Miran Potrč determined the date of the first democratic elections in Socialist Republic of Slovenia to be on the 8 of April 1990, since 16 May 1990, the Republic of Slovenia has had a total of twelve governments headed by eight different prime ministers. The prime minister in the first government of the Republic of Slovenia, was Lojze Peterle, since the first government eight governments have been formed by the left parties and four by the right political parties. The cabinet was sworn on 20 March 2013, the cabinet was sworn in on 10 February 2012
9.
Slovenian Parliament
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The Slovenian Parliament is the informal designation of the general representative body of the Slovenian nation and the legislative body of the Republic of Slovenia. According to the Constitution of Slovenia, the representative body of the Slovenian nation is the National Assembly. The general public in Slovenia often refer to the National Assembly alone as the Slovenian Parliament, however, the National Council, the representative body of basic social groups, also performs a further, if minor, part of the legislative function. The opinions of experts and of the general Slovenian public on whether the Slovenian Parliament is bicameral or unicameral differ, in 2008, the Constitutional Court of Slovenia recognized the Slovenian Parliament as incompletely bicameral. The National Assembly and the National Council convene in a modernist palace known as the Slovenian Parliament and sited in Republic Square and it was built between 1954 and 1959 by the architect Vinko Glanz. An unrealized project for a Slovenian Parliament building, designed by the architect Jože Plečnik in the late 1940s, politics of Slovenia List of legislatures by country National Assembly National Council
10.
National Assembly (Slovenia)
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The National Assembly, is the general representative body of Slovenia. It has 90 members, elected for a four-year term, the parliamentary election in Slovenia, October 2004
11.
Court of Audit of Slovenia
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The Court of Audit of the Republic of Slovenia is the highest body for supervising state accounts, the state budget and all public spending in Slovenia. The Constitution of Slovenia further provides that the Court of Audit is independent in the performance of its duties and bound by the Constitution and law. The Court of Audit Act also defines that the acts with which Court of Audit exercises its powers of audit cannot be challenged before the courts or other state bodies. The Court of Audit cannot be categorized within any of the three branches of power, legislative, executive or judicial and its independent status is guaranteed in several respects by the Constitution and the law, The Court of Audit exercises its powers entirely independently. It is responsible for adopting its own programme of work, no body, institution or other entity may order it to carry out tasks nor give it instructions as to how to perform tasks, what sort of audit it should carry out or what it should audit. The Court of Audit can also, at its own discretion, act on proposals from individuals – this source of proposals includes articles and contributions in the media and civil society organisations. For covering the costs of its activities the Court of Audit proposes a plan to the National Assembly. The Court of Audit may audit any act on past operations as well as the act on the operations of public fund users. The Court of Audit of the Republic of Slovenia has three members, a president and two deputy presidents. They are appointed for a term of nine years on a proposal from the President of the Republic by the National Assembly by majority vote of all the deputies in a secret ballot, the President and the two Deputy Presidents form the Senate of the Court of Audit. Members of the Court of Audit may only be dismissed from office before the end of their term in the set out in the Court of Audit Act. In addition to the Members the Court of Audit also has a maximum of six Supreme State Auditors, who head the departments and Secretary of the Court of Audit. They all have the status of public officials and they are appointed by the President of the Court of Audit for a term of nine years. Members, Supreme State Auditors and Secretary of the Court of Audit may stand as candidates for the office several times without restriction. The Court of Audit is represented and headed by its President, the mission of the Court of Audit is to inform the public about important audit findings from the audits of state bodies and other public funds users in a timely and objective manner. Strategic goals of the Court of Audit are otlined in Court of Audit Strategy, official website of the Court of Audit of the Republic of Slovenia Audits in progress All Audit Reports Audit Reports Abstracts Court of Audit Portraits
12.
Elections in Slovenia
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At a national level, Slovenia elects a head of state and a legislature. The president is elected for a term by the people using the Run-Off system. The National Assembly, Slovenias parliament, has 90 members each elected for four-year terms, all but two of these are elected using the DHondt Method of list proportional representation. The remaining two members are elected by the Italian and Hungarian ethnic minorities using the Borda count, Slovenias multi-party system means that any one party is unlikely to gain power alone. Coalition governments must therefore be negotiated and formed, Electoral calendar Electoral system Toplak, Jurij. The parliamentary election in Slovenia, October 2004, adam Carrs Election Archive Parties and elections NSD, European Election Database - Slovenia publishes regional level election data, allows for comparisons of election results, 1992-2008
13.
Slovenian parliamentary election, 2011
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A parliamentary election for the 90 deputies to the National Assembly of Slovenia was held on 4 December 2011. This was the first early election in Slovenias history,65. 60% of voters cast their vote. The election was won by the center-left Positive Slovenia party. The election was scheduled to take place in 2012, four years after the 2008 election. However, on 20 September 2011, the government led by Borut Pahor fell after a vote of no confidence, if this does not happen, the president dissolves the Assembly and calls for a snap election. The leaders of most parliamentary political parties expressed opinion that they preferred an early election instead of forming a new government. As no candidates were proposed by the deadline, the President Danilo Türk announced that he would dissolve the Assembly on 21 October, the question arose as to whether the President could dissolve the Assembly after the seven days, in the event that no candidate was proposed. However, since this situation is not covered in the constitution, the dissolution of the Assembly, a first in independent Slovenia, took place on October 21, a minute after midnight. Members of the Italian community elected Roberto Battelli, and members of the Hungarian community elected László Göncz as their representative. Batelli was the candidate in the Italian community, whereas in the Hungarian community, Göncz won 68. 54% of votes. In the Italian community,1,152 out of 2,711 voters voted, two new parties, both formed just weeks before the election, entered the National Assembly, with Positive Slovenia winning the election and Gregor Virants Civic List placing fourth. However, the Christian democracy centre-right New Slovenia party returned to the Assembly after being absent following the 2008 election, immediately after the election, Janković said that the victory of his party was a proof that Slovenians wanted an efficient state and that he would focus on economic growth. Shortly after the results became available, he stated he would invite all the parties to coalition talks. Analysts predicted the most likely coalition would consist of PS, SD, LGV, the leader of the SDS party Janez Janša congratulated Janković on the day of the election, stating that he was ready to cooperate, though Janković previously rejected to form a coalition with SDS. The leader of Social Democrats and incumbent Prime Minister Pahor stated that the result of his party was better than he expected, LGV, DeSUS, SLS, and NSi parties were all satisfied with the results. Foreign media reported about the win of the election by Zoran Janković as a surprising result and he also stated that the large participation at election showed the voters had preserved their trust in democracy. He congratulated the parties who succeeded to win a seat in the Assembly, according to public opinion researchers, Positive Slovenia won the election due to the mobilisation of left voters, particularly in Ljubljana. They also reported that voting in Slovenia reached proportions that were not recorded anywhere else before
14.
Slovenian parliamentary election, 2014
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A parliamentary election for the 90 deputies to the National Assembly of Slovenia was held on 13 July 2014. The early election, less than three years after the one, was called following the resignation of Alenka Bratušeks government in May. Seventeen parties participated, including seven new parties, some of which formed only months before the election took place, Party of Miro Cerar, a new party led by lawyer and professor Miro Cerar, won the election with over 34% of the vote and 36 seats. Seven political parties won seats in the National Assembly, three political parties left the Assembly, including Zoran Jankovićs Positive Slovenia, the winner of the 2011 election. A leftist United Left party entered the Assembly for the first time, janšas government collapsed on 27 February 2013 after he was accused of corruption. Janša was later sentenced to 2 years in prison, and fined €37,000, a new government was formed by Positive Slovenia, the Social Democrats, DL, and DeSUS. PS leader Alenka Bratušek became Prime Minister, on 25 April 2014, congress of Pozitivna Slovenija was held in Brdo pri Kranju. The main agenda was the election of the president of the party. Two candidates applied for the post, previous president Zoran Janković, coalition parties SD, DL and DeSUS have threatened to leave the government if Jankovič were elected. Janković was indeed elected, triggering Bratušeks formal resignation as the PM on 5 May, on 1 June 2014 president of Slovenia Borut Pahor announced the dissolution of the Assembly on 2 June and that the election would take place on 13 July. Pahors decision to call the election during a summer month triggered some opposition from civil initiatives, however, United Left, Verjamem, and the Pirate Party took place for the first time in the European Parliament election on 25 May and participated in the national election as well. Solidarity Party agreed to enter the election together with Social Democrats, Janez Janša began serving his two-year prison sentence on 20 June, which, according to the media, influenced the campaign of his party. The Party of Miro Cerar won a plurality in the election by a margin with 36 seats. The only party that managed to win a percentage of the votes was Janez Drnovšeks Liberal Democracy of Slovenia at the 2000 election. Janšas Slovenian Democratic Party came second, losing 5 seats in comparison with the 2011 election, the difference between the first two parties turned out to be higher than most of opinion polls predicted. DeSUS placed third with 10 seats, the best result in partys history, United Left won 6 seats, with tracking polls showing gaining the momentum in the last days before the election. The Social Democrats lost 4 seats and obtained their worst election result, new Slovenia won an additional mandate and the Alliance of Alenka Bratušek managed to win 4 seats. The Slovenian Peoples Party, Positive Slovenia, and Civic List all failed to retain seats in the Assembly, all other parties also failed to reach the 4% threshold
15.
Slovenian presidential election, 2007
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The 2007 Slovenian presidential election was held in order to elect the successor to the second President of Slovenia Janez Drnovšek for a five-year term. France Cukjati, the President of the National Assembly, called the election on 20 June 2007, seven candidates competed in the elections first round on 21 October 2007, three entered the race as independent candidates, the other four were supported by political parties. Several political events, as well as tension between the Government and the opposition, overshadowed the campaign. The front runner Lojze Peterle, supported by the conservative coalition, won the first round with far fewer votes than predicted by opinion polls. In the second round, held on 11 November 2007, Peterle faced the runner-up, Türk won the second round in a landslide, with 68. 03% of the vote. Nearly three quarters of the votes were cast against the law, after both election and referendum results were announced, the Prime Minister Janez Janša announced that he might resign, following what he perceived to be a heavy defeat for the Government. The Government later won a vote of confidence in the National Assembly, the role of the president of Slovenia is mainly ceremonial. One of the presidents duties is to nominate the Prime Minister, after consulting with political groups represented in the National Assembly. The president also proposes candidates for state offices, as well as judicial appointments to the Constitutional and Supreme Court. In rare circumstances, the president possesses the power to pass laws, the President is also the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. Unlike the majority of the government, which is chosen by the National Assembly and elected through proportional representation, the previous presidential election in 2002 brought major changes to Slovenian politics. Prime Minister Janez Drnovšek of the Liberal Democracy of Slovenia stood for the office, the 2004 legislative election brought further changes and a political swing to the right. Janez Janša, the leader of a coalition, formed the new government. In Slovenia, this was the first time after 1992 that the President, in the beginning of his term, Drnovšek, who was ill with cancer, stayed out of public view. Drnovšeks new approach to politics prompted one commentator to nickname him Slovenias Gandhi. The relationship between Drnovšek and the government quickly became tense, disagreements began with Drnovšeks initiatives in foreign politics, aimed at solving major foreign conflicts, including those in Darfur and Kosovo. The disagreements moved to issues of politics in October 2006. The neighborhood had forced the Strojans to relocate, which in turn subjected them to police supervision and limitation of movement, the friction continued over the appointment of other state official nominees, including Constitutional Court judges
16.
Slovenian presidential election, 2012
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Presidential elections were held in Slovenia on 11 November 2012, with a run-off held on 2 December 2012. The first round was won, contrary to the opinion poll predictions, by Pahor, in the run-off election, Pahor won with roughly two thirds of the vote. Each political party can support one candidate. In the election, the president is elected with a majority of the vote, if no candidate receives more than half of votes, the top two candidates meet in the second round of election. Narrowly placing second in the first round, Türk won the round in a landslide. Borut Pahor of the Social Democrats had already considered to running for the office in the 2007 election, however, he instead decided to concentrate on the then upcoming parliamentary election where his party won and he was elected Prime Minister. In September 2011, Pahors government lost a confidence vote amidst an economic crisis, in the following election, Pahor was elected to the National Assembly while his party lost the plurality of the votes. In June 2012, Pahor unsuccessfully ran for re-election as president of the Social Democrats and he was defeated by Igor Lukšič by a narrow margin. At the same party congress, Pahor announced he would run for President of Slovenia and he received support from Social Democrats and also from the Civic List, a Conservative Liberal party in the Slovenian center-right government coalition. Pahor also submitted over 4.400 signatures of support, Milan Zver entered the election as a candidate of two coalition parties, Slovenian Democratic Party and Nova Slovenija. Zver, sociologist and political scientist, served as the Minister for Education, in 2009, Zver was elected member of the European Parliament as a candidate of Slovenian Democratic Party. Zmago Jelinčič Plemeniti of the Slovenian National Party, who run for the several times before, also suggested he would run, however. Monika Malešič, independent politician, also announced her candidacy and she later withdrew her candidacy due to lack of public support. Other people who announced the intention to run include Miro Žitko, Ladislav Troha, Dušan Egidij Kubot - Totislo, Artur Štern, Martina Valenčič, Fani Eršte, all three campaigns stated that their activities would be financially austere in accordance with the situation in the country. Each however, was marked by its own specific style, Pahor carried out a variety of voluntary jobs, and took part in a number of work actions organised by his campaign. Zver participated in political and civil group rallies and similar events across the country. Türk organised a political meeting in Križanke to inaugurate the campaign. An important part of the three campaigns were the radio and television debates
17.
European Parliament election, 2014 (Slovenia)
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European Parliament elections were held in Slovenia on 25 May 2014. It was the first in the series of three held in the 2014, and the major test leading up to the parliamentary elections in July. The political atmosphere was in a crisis that started with the fall of Borut Pahors government, then Janez Janšas government in 2013, the main characteristic of the elections was the participation of several new parties, founded during the recent years of crisis. Verjamem was among the last parties to be founded before the elections, poll results are listed in the table below in reverse chronological order, showing the most recent first. The highest percentage figure in each polling survey is displayed in bold, in the instance that there is a tie, then no figure is shaded. The lead column on the shows the percentage-point difference between the two parties with the highest figures. Poll results use the date the surveys fieldwork was done, as opposed to the date of publication, however, if such date is unknown, the date of publication will be given instead. Notes The election was won by the right pole parties. Igor Šoltes won one seat for the The Greens–European Free Alliance, the leader of the Social Democrats Igor Lukšič, was not elected in the parliament even though he was the president of the party and its main candidate. He was beaten by Tanja Fajon by preferential voting with 11.691 against 6.882 votes for her party colleague. A candidate for the presidency of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker wished to have a name of the candidate for the new Slovenian commissioner until the 1 of August 2014, a huge debate took place right after the election and was a played a part of the pre-election time. Bratušek, who was still a minister at the moment, wished to send a name of the candidate by herself. After his victory on the elections, he proposed the current commissioner Janez Potočnik as a potential common candidate of the government. The government placed his proposal on the list of candidates along with the Prime Minister Alenka Bratušek, Karl Erjavec, the actual commissioner withdrew his candidature, as he did not agree with the multitued of the candidates. The self nomination of Alenka Bratušek caused even bigger storm in Slovenian political atmosphere and her action is now under investigation by Commission for the Prevention of Corruption of the Republic of Slovenia. Cerar, as the newly named Prime Minister-designate, declared his first action will be a letter to Juncker in which he shall consult the candidate for the new leader of European Commission. In the background a big lobbying battle took place, as Tanja Fajon, Karl Erjavec also announced a meeting with potential leader of the Commission after the appointment of presidents of the European Council on 30 of August. Janez Potočnik returned to the race, after SMC refused cooperation with ZaAB in the new coalition and she faced a hearing in front of the representatives of the European Parliament on 6. of October
18.
List of political parties in Slovenia
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This article lists political parties in Slovenia. Search term in the field Ime stranke, *, ministry of Interior Affairs, Republic of Slovenia
19.
Statistical regions of Slovenia
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The statistical regions of Slovenia are 12 administrative entities created in 2000 for legal and statistical purposes. By a decree of 2000 Slovenia has been divided into 12 statistical regions, which replace the historical regions of the country. West Slovenia, which groups the Central Slovenia, Upper Carniola, Gorizia, slovenian regions in figures 2014 Municipalities of Slovenia Traditional regions of Slovenia Media related to Regions of Slovenia at Wikimedia Commons
20.
Municipalities of Slovenia
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Slovenia is divided into 212 municipalities, of which 11 have urban status. Municipalities are further divided into communities and districts. Slovene is a language of all the municipalities. Hungarian is an official language of 3 municipalities in Prekmurje, Dobrovnik/Dobronak, Hodoš/Hodos. Italian is an official language of 4 municipalities in the Slovene Littoral, Ankaran/Ancarano, Izola/Isola, Koper/Capodistria. In the EU statistics the municipalities of Slovenia are classified as administrative unit 2. The Slovene names have the word Občina in front, e. g. Občina Bled, as an English name, the Statistical Office uses a word by word transformation, e. g. Municipality Bled. The Slovene Press Agency also uses the form, e. g. Bled municipality. A third form is used by The Office of the President of the Republic, in 2014, Slovenia was divided into 212 municipalities, of which 11 had urban status. ISO 3166-2, SI NUTS, SI Review of municipalities and appurtenant spatial units, published by the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia
21.
Foreign relations of Slovenia
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Resource limitations have nevertheless been a problem hindering the efficiency of the Slovenian diplomacy. In the 1990s, foreign relations, especially with Italy, Austria and Croatia, Slovenia is engaged with 29 countries in bilateral military exchange - most actively with the United States - and in regional cooperative arrangements in Central and Southeast Europe. Thereafter, it continued to support efforts to restore stability in Albania by participating in the WEUs Multinational Advisory Police Element helping to reconstitute, Slovenia also has peacekeepers with the UN at Naharya Ogl, Israel, on the Lebanese border. It agreed to be lead country for several initiatives in 1999, Slovenias bilateral relations with its neighbors are generally good and cooperative. However, a few unresolved disputes with Croatia remain and they are related mostly to the succession of the former Yugoslavia, including demarcation of their common border. Succession issues, particularly concerning liabilities and assets of the former Yugoslavia, on the whole, no conflicts mar relations with neighbors, which are on a sound footing. Numerous cooperative projects are underway or envisioned, and bilateral and multilateral partnerships are deepening. Differences, many of which stem from Yugoslavias time, have been handled responsibly and are being resolved, relations between Austria and Slovenia are close. Austria was, next to Germany and the Holy See, the most firm supporter of Slovenias independence and it firmly endorsed Slovenias path into the European Union. Economic cooperation between the two countries is important and has been expanding since the early 1990s. Although, the most important disputed issue with Croatia is Slovenian and Italian opposition to the proclamation of the Croatian Ecological, Slovenia has supported Croatias entry in the European Union, but has at times demanded that the opened bilateral questions be resolved before Croatias accession to the Union. Unlike with some of Hungarys other neighbors, minority issues have not been a problem in Hungarian-Slovene relations, the Hungarian minority in Slovenia is granted a policy of positive discrimination under the Slovene constitution, and the legal status of Hungarian Slovenes is good. The bilateral relations between Italy and Slovenia have improved dramatically since 1994 and are now at a good level. In the early 1990s, the issue regarding property restitution to the Istrian exiles was hindering the development of a relationship between the two countries. By 1996, however, the issue had been set aside, with Italy renouncing any revision of the Treaty of Osimo, Italy was a firm supporter of Slovene EU and NATO membership, helping Slovenia technically and legislatively master its bid for membership in European and transatlantic institutions. In 2001, the Italian Parliament finally approved the legislation resolving the last open issues regarding the Slovenian minority in Italy, since then, Italo-Slovene relations can be characterized as excellent. List of diplomatic missions in Slovenia List of diplomatic missions of Slovenia
22.
Slovenian passport
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Slovenian passports are issued to citizens of Slovenia to facilitate international travel. Every Slovenian citizen is also a citizen of the European Union, the passport, along with the national identity card allows for free rights of movement and residence in any of the states of the European Union and European Economic Area. According to the 2014 Visa Restricitions Index, Slovenian citizens can visit 160 countries without a visa or with a visa granted on arrival. Slovenian citizens can live and work in any country within the EU as a result of the right of free movement, the Slovenian ID card is also valid for travel to other former Yugoslav republics, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia. Slovenian passports are the same colour as other European passports. The words EVROPSKA UNIJA and REPUBLIKA SLOVENIJA are inscribed above the coat of arms, Passports issued in officially bilingual areas of Slovenia also have Italian or Hungarian text below the Slovene. These are UNIONE EUROPEA, REPUBBLICA DI SLOVENIA and PASSAPORTO in Italian and EURÓPAI UNIÓ, SZLOVÉN KÖZTÁRSASÁG, Slovenian passports have the standard biometric symbol at the bottom and use the standard EU design. Media related to Slovenian passport at Wikimedia Commons Passports of the European Union Visa requirements for Slovenian citizens Brochure of Slovenian biometric passport
23.
Visa requirements for Slovenian citizens
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Visa requirements for Slovenian citizens are administrative entry restrictions imposed on citizens of Slovenia by the authorities of other states. Visa requirements for Slovenian citizens for visits to various territories, disputed areas and restricted zones, mount Athos — Special permit required. There is a quota, maximum 100 Orthodox and 10 non-Orthodox per day. Crimea — Visa issued by Russia is required, turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus — Visa free access for 3 months. UN Buffer Zone in Cyprus — Access Permit is required for travelling inside the zone, jan Mayen — permit issued by the local police required for staying for less than 24 hours and permit issued by the Norwegian police for staying for more than 24 hours. Kosovo — visa free for 90 days, travellers with Nagorno-Karabakh visa or evidence of travel to Nagorno-Karabakh will be permanently denied entry to Azerbaijan. Multiple entry visa to Russia and three-day prior notification are required to enter South Ossetia, africa British Indian Ocean Territory — special permit required. Eritrea — visa covers Asmara only, to travel in the rest of the country, saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Ascension Island — Entry Permit must be obtained minimum 28 days in advance. Saint Helena — Visitors Pass granted on arrival valid for 4/10/21/60/90 days for 12/14/16/20/25 pound sterling, Tristan da Cunha — Permission to land required for 15/30 pounds sterling for Tristan da Cunha Island or 20 pounds sterling for Gough Island, Inaccessible Island or Nightingale Islands. Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic — undefined visa regime, asia Hong Kong — Visa not required for 90 days. India — Protected Area Permit required for all of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram and parts of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, restricted Area Permit required for all of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep and parts of Sikkim. Some of these requirements are occasionally lifted for a year, macao — Visa not required for 90 days. Arrival by sea to Gaza Strip not allowed, taiwan — Visa not required for 90 days. Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province — OIVR permit required and another special permit is required for Lake Sarez, Tibet Autonomous Region — Tibet Travel Permit required. Korean Demilitarized Zone — restricted zone, UNDOF Zone and Ghajar — restricted zones. Caribbean and North Atlantic Anguilla — Visa not required for 3 months, aruba — Visa not required for 30 days. Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba — Visa not required for 3 months, British Virgin Islands — Visa not required. Cayman Islands — Visa not required for 6 months, curacao — Visa not required for 3 months
24.
Slovene language
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Slovene or Slovenian belongs to the group of South Slavic languages. It is spoken by approximately 2.5 million speakers worldwide and it is the first language of about 2.1 million Slovenian people and is one of the 24 official and working languages of the European Union. Standard Slovene is the standard language that was formed in the 18th century, mostly based on Upper and Lower Carniolan dialect groups. For example, the Resian and Torre dialects in the Italian Province of Udine differ most from other Slovene dialects, the distinctive characteristics of Slovene are dual grammatical number, two accentual norms, and abundant inflection. Although Slovene is basically an SVO language, word order is very flexible, Slovene has a T-V distinction, second-person plural forms are used for individuals as a sign of respect. Slovene and Slovak are the two modern Slavic languages whose names for themselves literally mean Slavic. Slovene is an Indo-European language belonging to the Western subgroup of the South Slavic branch of the Slavic languages, furthermore, Slovene shares certain linguistic characteristics with all South Slavic languages, including those of the Eastern subgroup, such as Bulgarian. The Slovene language also has commonalities with the West Slavic languages. Like all Slavic languages, Slovene traces its roots to the same group of languages that produced Old Church Slavonic. The earliest known examples of a distinct, written Slovene dialect are from the Freising Manuscripts, the consensus estimate of their date of origin is between 972 and 1093. These religious writings are among the oldest surviving manuscripts in any Slavic language and this linguistic border remained almost unchanged until the late 19th century, when a second process of Germanization took place, mostly in Carinthia. Between the 9th and 12th century, proto-Slovene spread into northern Istria, during most of the Middle Ages, Slovene was a vernacular language of the peasantry, although it was also spoken in most of the towns on Slovene territory, together with German or Italian. Although during this time, German emerged as the language of the nobility, Slovene had some role in the courtly life of the Carinthian, Carniolan and Styrian nobility. This is proved by the survival of certain ritual formulas in Slovene, the words Buge waz primi, gralva Venus. The first printed Slovene words, stara pravda, appeared in 1515 in Vienna in a poem of the German mercenaries who suppressed the Slovene peasant revolt. Standard Slovene emerged in the half of the 16th century, thanks to the works of Slovene Lutheran authors. During this period, German had a influence on Slovene. Many Slovene scientists before the 1920s also wrote in languages, mostly German
25.
Legislature
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A legislature is a deliberative assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. Legislatures form important parts of most governments, in the separation of model, they are often contrasted with the executive. Laws enacted by legislatures are known as legislation, legislatures observe and steer governing actions and usually have exclusive authority to amend the budget or budgets involved in the process. The members of a legislature are called legislators, each chamber of legislature consists of a number of legislators who use some form of parliamentary procedure to debate political issues and vote on proposed legislation. There must be a number of legislators present to carry out these activities. Some of the responsibilities of a legislature, such as giving first consideration to newly proposed legislation, are delegated to committees made up of small selections of the legislators. The members of a legislature usually represent different political parties, the members from each party generally meet as a caucus to organize their internal affairs, the internal organization of a legislature is also shaped by the informal norms that are shared by its members. Legislatures vary widely in the amount of power they wield, compared to other political players such as judiciaries, militaries. In 2009, political scientists M. Steven Fish and Matthew Kroenig constructed a Parliamentary Powers Index in an attempt to quantify the different degrees of power among national legislatures, such a system renders the legislature more powerful. Legislatures will sometime delegate their legislative power to administrative or executive agencies, legislatures are made up of individual members, known as legislators, who vote on proposed laws. For example, a legislature that has 100 seats has 100 members, by extension, an electoral district that elects a single legislator can also be described as a seat, as, for, example, in the phrases safe seat and marginal seat. In parliamentary systems of government, the executive is responsible to the legislature which may remove it with a vote of no confidence, names for national legislatures include parliament, congress, diet and assembly. A legislature which operates as a unit is unicameral, one divided into two chambers is bicameral, and one divided into three chambers is tricameral. In bicameral legislatures, one chamber is considered the upper house. In federations, the upper house typically represents the component states. This is a case with the legislature of the European Union. Tricameral legislatures are rare, the Massachusetts Governors Council still exists, tetracameral legislatures no longer exist, but they were previously used in Scandinavia. Legislatures vary widely in their size, among national legislatures, Chinas National Peoples Congress is the largest with 2987 members, while Vatican Citys Pontifical Commission is the smallest with 7
26.
Upper house
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An upper house, sometimes called a Senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the house is usually smaller. Examples of upper houses in countries include the UKs House of Lords, Canadas Senate, Indias Rajya Sabha, Russias Federation Council, Irelands Seanad, Germanys Bundesrat, a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral. An upper house is different from the lower house in at least one of the following respects, Powers, In a parliamentary system. Therefore, in countries the Upper House votes on only limited legislative matters. Cannot vote a motion of no confidence against the government, while the house always can. In a presidential system, It may have equal or nearly equal power with the lower house and it may have specific powers not granted to the lower house. For example, It may give advice and consent to some executive decisions and it may have the sole power to try impeachments against officials of the executive, following enabling resolutions passed by the lower house. Status, In some countries, its members are not popularly elected, membership may be indirect and its members may be elected with a different voting system than that used to elect the lower house. Less populated states, provinces, or administrative divisions may be represented in the upper house than in the lower house. Members terms may be longer than in the house. Members may be elected in portions, for staggered terms, rather than all at one time, in some countries, the upper house cannot be dissolved at all, or can be dissolved only in more limited circumstances than the lower house. It typically has fewer members or seats than the lower house and it has usually a higher age of candidacy than the lower house. In parliamentary systems the upper house is seen as an advisory or revising chamber. Some or all of the restrictions are often placed on upper houses. No absolute veto of proposed legislation, though suspensive vetoes are permitted in some states, in countries where it can veto legislation, it may not be able to amend the proposals. A reduced or even absent role in initiating legislation, additionally, a Government must have the consent of both to remain in office, a position which is known as perfect bicameralism or equal bicameralism. An example is the British House of Lords, bills can only be delayed for up to one year before the Commons can use the Parliament Act, although economic bills can only be delayed for one month
27.
Bicameralism
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A bicameral legislature is one in which the legislators are divided into two separate assemblies, chambers or houses. As of 2015, somewhat less than half of the national legislatures are bicameral. Often, the members of the two chambers are elected or selected using different methods, which vary from country to country and this can often lead to the two chambers having very different compositions of members. However, in many Westminster system parliaments, the house to which the executive is responsible can overrule the other house, some legislatures lie in between these two positions, with one house only able to overrule the other under certain circumstances. For example, one house would represent the aristocracy, and the other would represent the commoners as was the case in the Kingdom of England. Others, such as France under the Ancien Régime had a legislature known as the Estates General, which consisted of separate chambers for the clergymen, the nobility. The Founding Fathers of the United States also favoured a bicameral legislature, the idea was to have the Senate be wealthier and wiser. Benjamin Rush saw this though, and noted that, this type of dominion is almost always connected with opulence, the Senate was created to be a stabilising force, elected not by mass electors, but selected by the State legislators. Senators would be more knowledgeable and more sort of republican nobility—and a counter to what Madison saw as the fickleness. He noted further that the use of the Senate is to consist in its proceeding with more coolness, with system and with more wisdom. Madisons argument led the Framers to grant the Senate prerogatives in foreign policy, an area where steadiness, discretion, the Senate was chosen by state legislators, and senators had to possess a significant amount of property in order to be deemed worthy and sensible enough for the position. In fact, it was not until the year 1913 that the 17th Amendment was passed, as part of the Great Compromise, they invented a new rationale for bicameralism in which the Senate would have states represented equally, and the House would have them represented by population. Many nations with parliaments have to some degree emulated the British three-tier model, nevertheless, the older justification for second chambers—providing opportunities for second thoughts about legislation—has survived. An example of controversy regarding a second chamber has been the debate over the powers of the Canadian Senate or the election of the Senate of France. The relationship between the two chambers varies, in cases, they have equal power, while in others. The first tends to be the case in federal systems and those with presidential governments, the latter tends to be the case in unitary states with parliamentary systems. In the United States both houses of the U. S and this is due to their original location in the two-story building that was to house them. In Canada, the country as a whole is divided into a number of Senate Divisions, each with a different number of Senators, Senators in Canada are not elected by the people but are appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister
28.
Liberal Democracy of Slovenia
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Liberal Democracy of Slovenia is a liberal and social-liberal political party in Slovenia. Between 1992 and 2004 it was the largest party in the country, in the 2011 Slovenian parliamentary election, it failed to win entry to the Slovenian National Assembly. The party was a member of the Liberal International and the Alliance of Liberals, the LDS dominated Slovenian politics during the first decade following independence. Except for an interruption in 2000, it held the parliamentary majority between 1994 and 2004, when it lost the election to the conservative Slovenian Democratic Party. The loss was followed by decline, infighting and political fragmentation, in the 2011 parliamentary election on 4 December 2011, its support collapsed even further, it won only 1. 48% of the vote, not reaching the parliamentary threshold of 4%. In 1990, the well-known Slovenian sociologist, philosopher and cultural critic Slavoj Žižek was the LDS candidate for the Presidency of Slovenia, the LDS formed coalitions ruling the governments of Slovenia from 1992 to 2004, with an interruption for a few months in 2000. The first Prime Minister of Slovenia from LDS was Janez Drnovšek, at the 2004 European election, LDS won 21. 9% of the vote, which yielded 2 seats in the European Parliament out of Slovenias allocation of 7. At the 2004 elections, the LDS party suffered a loss of votes. The Slovenian Democratic Party became the largest party, and the LDS went into opposition, the party held 23 seats in the National Assembly until 2007, when 12 members resigned from the party. Following the defeat of 2004, the party suffered an internal crisis. In 2005, Anton Rop resigned as president and was succeeded by Jelko Kacin, following these events, Jelko Kacin resigned as President and was succeeded by Katarina Kresal. Following Kresals election as president, several prominent members, including former Health Minister Dušan Keber. In 2008, the party won 5, 3% of the votes and entered the coalition led by the Social Democrat Borut Pahor. In the early elections of 2011, the party failed to enter the Parliament
29.
Slovenian People's Party
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The Slovenian Peoples Party is a conservative, agrarian, and Christian democratic political party in Slovenia. Formed in 1988 under the name of Slovenian Peasant Union as the first democratic organization in Yugoslavia. It changed its name to Slovenian Peoples Party in 1992, on 15 April 2000 it merged with the Slovene Christian Democrats to form the SLS+SKD Slovenian Peoples Party, and changed its name in 2001 to Slovenian Peoples Party. SLS won seats in the National Parliament in general elections in Slovenia in the years 1992,1996,2000,2004,2008,2011, but missed the parliamentary threshold in 2014. SLS won 6. 83% of the vote at the early 2011 Slovenian parliamentary election on 4 December 2011, from March 2013 to December 2014, Franc Bogovič led SLS. In the 2014 European Parliamentary elections, SLS got their first seat in the European Parliament with Franc Bogovič being elected member of the European Parliament on the NSi, SLS lost their seats in the National parliament for the first time in the general elections on 13 July 2014. In the local elections in October 2014, SLS won among all Slovenian political parties in the number of elected mayors, on 6 December 2014, a new leadership was elected at the SLS Congress in Podčetrtek, Slovenia. The new president of the SLS is Marko Zidanšek, MSc, the Slovenian Peoples Party was established in May 1988 under the name of Slovenian Peasant Union as the first openly non-Communist political organization in Slovenia and Yugoslavia after 1945. The establishment of the Slovenian Peasant Union is frequently considered as one of the events in the Slovenian Spring of 1988. In January 1989, it could register as a party, in the first multi-party election in Slovenia, the Peasant Union ran as a part of the DEMOS coalition and won 11 of the 80 seats in the Slovenian Parliament. The partys name was changed to the current form in 1991, in 1992, Marjan Podobnik was elected as president of the party. Under his leadership, the Slovenian Peoples Party pursued an agrarian, in 1992, the founder of the Slovenian Peasant Union Ivan Oman left the party and joined the Slovene Christian Democrats, who were then part of the ruling centrist grand coalition. Between 1992 and 1996, the Slovene Peoples Party was, together with the Slovenian National Party and its ideology and policies were marked by a populist shift. In late 1995, representatives of the Peoples Party called for a referendum to suspend the citizenship of non-ethnic Slovenes, the attempt was stopped by the Constitutional Court. However the alliance, was disbanded immediately after the elections, when the SLS joined a government with the Liberal Democracy of Slovenia. In April 2000, strains between SLS and the Liberal Democrats led to the withdrawal from the coalition. In early May, SLS, SKD and SDS elected Christian democrat Andrej Bajuk prime minister instead, on 15 April 2000, the Slovene Christian Democrats merged into the Slovenian Peoples Party, and the abbreviation was temporarily changed to SLS+SKD to signify both predecessors. However, as early as in July of the same year rifts emerged, based on the question of a new electoral system
30.
Federation
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A federation is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions under a central government. The governmental or constitutional structure found in a federation is known as federalism and it can be considered the opposite of another system, the unitary state. Federations are often multiethnic and cover an area of territory. The initial agreements create a stability that encourages other common interests, at some time, that is recognized and a movement is organized to merge more closely. At other times, especially when common cultural factors are at such as ethnicity and language. The Old Swiss Confederacy was an example of formal non-unitary statehood. Several colonies and dominions in the New World consisted of autonomous provinces, the oldest continuous federation, and a role model for many subsequent federations, is the United States. Some of the New World federations failed, the Federal Republic of Central America broke up into independent states ten years after its founding, others, such as Argentina and Mexico, have shifted between federal, confederal, and unitary systems, before settling into federalism. Brazil became a federation only after the fall of the monarchy, australia and Canada are also federations. Germany is another nation-state that has switched between confederal, federal and unitary rules, since the German Confederation was founded in 1815, the North German Confederation, the succeeding German Empire and the Weimar Republic were federations. The Russian Federation has inherited a similar system, Nigeria, Pakistan, India and Malaysia became federations on or shortly before becoming independent from the British Empire. In some recent cases, federations have been instituted as a measure to handle ethnic conflict within a state, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Iraq since 2005. The component states are in some sense sovereign, insofar as certain powers are reserved to them that may not be exercised by the central government, however, a federation is more than a mere loose alliance of independent states. The component states of a federation usually possess no powers in relation to foreign policy, however, German Länder have that power, which is beginning to be exercised on a European level. Some federations are called asymmetric because some states have more autonomy than others, an example of such a federation is Malaysia, in which Sarawak and Sabah agreed to form the federation on different terms and conditions from the states of Peninsular Malaysia. A federation often emerges from an agreement between a number of separate states. The purpose can be the will to solve problems and to provide for mutual defense or to create a nation state for an ethnicity spread over several states. The former was the case with the United States and Switzerland, however, as the histories of countries and nations vary, the federalist system of a state can be quite different from these models
31.
Argentine Senate
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The Argentine Senate is the upper house of the Argentine National Congress. The National Senate was established by the Argentine Confederation on July 29,1854, there are 72 members, three for each province and three for the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. The number of senators per province was raised two to three following the 1994 amendment of the Argentine Constitution, and the change took effect following the May 14,1995. Historically, Senators were indirectly elected to terms by each provincial legislature. These provisions were abrogated by a 1994 constitutional amendment, and direct elections to the Senate took effect in 2001, currently one-third of the members are elected every two years. One-third of the provinces hold senatorial elections every two years, there are no term limits, the Senate is presided over by the Vice President of the Republic, who has the casting vote in the event of ties. The Senate must obtain quorum to deliberate, this being an absolute majority, see List of current members of the Argentine Senate The titular President of the Senate is the Vice President of Argentina. However, day to day leadership of the Senate is exercised by the Provisional President
32.
Australian Senate
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The Australian Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter I, there are a total of 76 senators,12 senators are elected from each of the six states and two from each of the two autonomous internal territories. Senators are popularly elected under the single vote system of proportional representation. As a result of proportional representation, the features a multitude of parties vying for power. Senators normally serve fixed terms, unless the Senate is dissolved earlier in a double dissolution. Following a double half the state senators serve terms ending on the third 30 June following the election with the rest serving three years longer. The term of the territory senators expires at the time as there is an election for the House of Representatives. The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act of 1900 established the Senate as part of the new system of government in newly federated Australia. From a comparative perspective, the Australian Senate exhibits distinctive characteristics. Unlike upper Houses in other Westminster system governments, the Senate is not a body with limited legislative power. Rather it was intended to play – and does play – an active role in legislation, the Constitution intended to give less populous states added voice in a Federal legislature, while also providing for the revising role of an upper house in the Westminster system. In practice, however, most legislation in the Australian Parliament is initiated by the Government and it is then passed to the Senate, which has the opportunity to amend the bill or refuse to pass it. In the majority of cases, voting takes place along party lines, since 2015, armed officers of the Australian Federal Police have been placed on duty to protect both chambers of the Federal Parliament. The system for electing senators has changed several times since Federation, the original arrangement involved a first-past-the-post block voting or winner takes all system, on a state-by-state basis. This was replaced in 1919 by preferential block voting, block voting tended to produce landslide majorities and even wipe-outs. For instance, from 1920 to 1923 the Nationalist Party of Australia had 35 of the 36 senators, and from 1947 to 1950, the Australian Labor Party had 33 of the 36 senators. From the 1984 election, group ticket voting was introduced in order to reduce a high rate of voting that arose from the requirement that each candidate be given a preference. As a result of the changes, voters may assign their preferences for parties above the line, or individual candidates below the line, both above and below the line voting now use optional preferential voting
33.
Federal Council (Austria)
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The Federal Council (German, Bundesrat is the second chamber of the Austrian Parliament, representing the nine States of Austria on federal level. As part of a bicameral legislature alongside of the National Council, the Bundesrat has its seat at the Austrian Parliament Building in Vienna, in a conclave of the former Herrenhaus chamber of the Imperial Council. Moreover in most cases a Federal Councils veto is just suspensive, meaning the National Council can override it, therefore, the decisions of the Bundesrat can only delay legislation. Since its inauguration on 10 November 1920, the deputies of Bundesrat have never achieved the status of a counterbalance in relation to the National Council, so far, the concept has been maintained as a manifestation of Austrias federal system. The Federal Council and the National Council, if in joint session, form a parliamentary body. The 61 members of the Federal Council are elected according to proportional representation by each of the Austrian states legislatures for 5- to 6-year terms, the composition of the Bundesrat therefore changes after every state election and the distribution of seats in the Austrian Landtage. The second largest faction of the particular Landtag has the right to designate at least one deputy, the number of representatives delegated by each Bundesland ranges between three and twelve, depending on its population as ascertained by a regular census, it is fixed per presidential decree. Federal Assembly Politics of Austria List of legislatures by country
34.
Senate (Belgium)
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The Senate is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be the house of the Federal Parliament. The 2014 elections were the first ones without an election of senators. Instead, the new Senate is completely composed of members of community and regional parliaments and it is a chamber of the communities and regions and serves as a platform for discussion and reflection about matters between the different language communities. The Senate now only plays a minor role in the federal legislative process. Since the reform, it holds about ten plenary sessions a year. After the Belgian Revolution, the National Congress decided about the Belgian Constitution, a bicameral Parliament was chosen over a unicameral one, due to fears of more democratic and progressive decisions in the Chamber of Representatives, as was seen in France. Thus the Senate served as a conservative and elite body. To be eligible, one had to pay 1000 francs, which meant that at that time, the Flemish nationalist party New Flemish Alliance, among other Flemish parties, said in 2010 that they want to abolish the Senate. The French-speaking parties, however, want to keep the Senate, since the sixth state reform, the Senate consists of 60 members. 50 are elected by the community and regional parliaments, and 10 are co-opted members, prior to the Belgian federal election of May 21,1995, there were 184 elected senators. The change took effect following the May 21,1995 federal election, of the total of 71 elected senators,40 were elected directly,21 appointed by the community parliaments and 10 senators were co-opted. The overall distribution of seats between parties was determined by the results of the direct election. The sixth state reform, taking effect on the May 25,2014 election, reduced the number of senators from 71 to 60, the German-speaking senator is chosen by plurality, the other Senate seats are distributed based on the results for the Chamber of Representatives election. These Community senators hold a double mandate and they are appointed to the Senate for a term of 4 years, but as the Community parliaments are renewed every 5 years, it is possible that regional elections take place during these 4 years. Ten Senators are co-opted, meaning they are elected by their peers, six by the Dutch-language group and these seats are distributed between parties using the direct election results. In 1893, the members were included in the Constitution as a new category of Senators. Until the elections of 25 May 2014, the Senate contained 40 directly elected members, to elect these members, the electorate was divided into two electoral colleges, a Dutch and a French electoral college
35.
House of Peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina
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It was established through the signing of the Dayton Agreement in 1995. It has 15 members equally distributed among the three groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina,5 Bosniaks,5 Serbs, and 5 Croats. The members are appointed by the parliaments of the constituent peoples and their duty is to make sure that no law is passed unless all three groups agree on it. Politics of Bosnia and Herzegovina House of Representatives Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina List of legislatures by country
36.
Federal Senate
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The Federal Senate is the upper house of the National Congress of Brazil. Created by the first Constitution of the Brazilian Empire in 1824, since the Proclamation of the Republic in 1889 the Federal Senate has resembled the United States Senate. Currently, the Senate comprises 81 seats, three Senators from each of the 26 states and three Senators from the Federal District are elected on a majority basis to serve eight-year terms. Elections are staggered so that two-thirds of the house is up for election at one time. The candidate in each State and the Federal District who achieve the greatest plurality of votes are elected, the current president of the Brazilian Senate is Eunício Oliveira, from the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party of Ceará. He was elected in early 2017 for a two-year term, the Federal Senate of Brazil was established as the Senate of the Empire by the Constitution of 1824, first enacted after the Declaration of Independence. Following independence, in 1822, Emperor Pedro I ordered the convocation of a National Assembly to draft the countrys first Constitution, following several disagreements with the elected deputies, the Emperor dissolved the Assembly. In 1824, Pedro I implemented the first Constitution which established a Legislative branch with the Chamber of Deputies as the house. The first configuration of the Senate was a body to the Emperor. Membership was for life and it was a place of great prestige, members of the Senate were elected, but they had to be at least 40 years old and have an annual income of 800,000 contos-de-réis, which limited candidates to wealthy citizens. Voters also faced an income qualification, voting in an election for the Senate was limited to male citizens with an annual income of at least 200,000 contos-de-réis. Those who qualified for this did not vote directly for Senators, instead, to be a Senate elector required an annual income of 400,000 contos-de-réis. Once elected, these electors would vote for senator. The election itself would not result in a winner automatically, the three candidates receiving the most votes would make up what was called a triple list, from which the Emperor would select one individual that would be considered elected. The Emperor usually chose the candidate with the most votes, the unelected Princes of the Brazilian Imperial House were senators by right and would assume their seats in the Senate upon reaching age 25. The original Senate had 50 members, representing all of the Empires Provinces, following the adoption of the 1824 Constitution the first session of the Senate took place in May 1826. The Emperor had repeatedly delayed calling the first election, which had led to accusations that he would attempt to establish an absolutist government
37.
Senate of Canada
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The Senate of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the House of Commons and the Monarch. The Senate is modelled after the British House of Lords and consists of 105 members appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister, Senators may serve until they reach the age of 75. The Senate is the house of Parliament and the House of Commons is the lower house. As a matter of practice and custom, the Commons is the dominant chamber, the approval of both chambers is necessary for legislation and, thus, the Senate can reject bills passed by the Commons. Between 1867 and 1987, the Senate rejected fewer than two bills per year, but this has increased in recent years. Moreover, members of the Cabinet are responsible solely to the House of Commons, while the prime minister and the rest of Cabinet remain in office only while they retain the confidence of the Commons, Senators are not beholden to such control. The Senate of Canada and the House of Commons of Canada sit in separate chambers in the Centre Block on Parliament Hill, located in Ottawa, Ontario. The chamber in which the Senate sits is called the red chamber, due to the red cloth that adorns the chamber. The red Senate chamber is decorated, in contrast with the more modest. There are chairs and desks on both sides of the chamber, divided by a centre aisle, the Speakers chair is at one end of the chamber, in front of it is the Clerks table. Various clerks sit at the table, ready to advise the Speaker, Members of the governing party sit on the benches to the Speakers right, while members of the Opposition occupy the benches on the Speakers left. The seat has the coat of arms of the Princess Louise The first two seats are vacant but present during the sitting of the Senate. The Speaker of the Senate uses the third seat with the Arms of Canada and this seat is removed during the throne speech. At either end of the chamber, on the floor, are the visitors galleries. The north gallerys lower seating area, or tribune, is reserved for journalists, the Governor General holds the power to make normal senatorial appointments, although, in modern practice, they make appointments only on the advice of the prime minister. A prime minister normally chooses members of his or her own party to be Senators, in practice, a large number of the members of the Senate are ex-Cabinet ministers, ex-provincial premiers, and other eminent people. The first Aboriginal senator was James Gladstone, who sat as an Independent Conservative, under the constitution, each province or territory is entitled to a specific number of Senate seats. The constitution divides Canada into four areas, each with an number of senators,24 for Ontario,24 for Quebec,24 for the Maritime provinces
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House of Federation
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The House of Federation is the upper house of the bicameral Federal Parliamentary Assembly, the parliament of Ethiopia. Each Nation, Nationality and People shall be represented in the House of the Federation by at least one member, each Nation or Nationality shall be represented by one additional representative for each one million of its population. Members of the House of the Federation shall be elected by the State Councils, the State Councils may themselves elect representatives to the House of the Federation, or they may hold elections to have the representatives elected by the people directly. The House of Federation has two committees and a Council of Constitutional Inquiry, each committee consists of fifteen members including a chair person. The two committees are the Regional & Constitutional Affairs and Budget Subsidy & Revenue Affairs, with the approval of the House Speaker, it creates committees to resolve disputes or misunderstandings that occur between states and was to failed to reach an agreement at the state level. Its the committees duty to present a report to the House for Federal intervention it any state, in violation of the Constitution, the Committee also responsible for Legal Affairs identified civil cases that need to be incorporated to the code. It also has the duty of coming up with issues which require constitutional amendment, the committee conducts a through review and presents a report incises where conflicting issues arise in the division of revenues. In consultation with the House speakers, it names a committee to draft the budget of the House and performs a follow-up that this is done at the right time
