Slovenia: Slovenia faces political uncertainty after election | Reuters

Slovenia looked set on Monday for a period of political uncertainty on Monday after an inconclusive parliamentary election in which the anti-immigrant Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) won most seats but fell well short of a majority. The lack of a clear outcome from Sunday’s election dented Slovenian bond prices and the country’s main business forum urged speedy coalition talks to avert any damage to the booming economy. Slovenian President Borut Pahor will later this week meet SDS leader Janez Jansa, presidential spokeswoman Spela Vovk said, without elaborating.

Slovenia: Elections Tilt Another European Country to the Right | The New York Times

Voters in Slovenia gave victory to a populist party led by a firebrand former prime minister in parliamentary elections on Sunday that tilted another European country to the right. The Slovenian Democratic Party, led by the two-time former prime minister Janez Jansa, received nearly 25 percent of the vote, according to the country’s National Election Commission. “Those who cast their ballots for us have elected a party that will put Slovenia first,” Mr. Jansa told supporters at the party’s headquarters in Ljubljana after the result was announced.

Slovenia: Preliminary results put right-wing party ahead in Slovenia | Associated Press

A right-wing opposition party led by a former Slovenian prime minister won the most votes in Slovenia’s parliamentary election Sunday, but not enough to form a government on its own, according to preliminary results. The State Election Commission said after counting some 90 percent of the ballots that Janez Jansa’s Slovenian Democratic Party received around 25 percent of the vote. The anti-establishment List of Marjan Sarec trailed in second place with over 12 percent. The Social Democrats, the Modern Center Party of the outgoing prime minister, Miro Cerar, and the Left all received around 9 percent. The preliminary tally means no party secured a majority in Slovenia’s 90-member parliament, and the likely next step is negotiations to form a coalition government.

Slovenia: President Wins Second Term in Runoff Election | The New York Times

Voters in Slovenia went to the polls on Sunday to decide a runoff election between a sitting president deeply rooted in the political establishment and a former actor who had appealed to the electorate by tapping into concern about the struggling economy. With all votes counted after the polls closed at 7 p.m. local time, the incumbent, Borut Pahor — described by one news media outlet as Europe’s Instagram president — received nearly 53 percent, according to results published by Slovenia’s National Election Commission. His rival, Marjan Sarec, the former actor and mayor of a small town north of the capital, Ljubljana, received a little more than 47 percent of the vote.

Slovenia: Ex-Comic Stymies Slovenian President’s Path to Re-Election | Bloomberg

Slovenian leader Borut Pahor will compete against comedian-turned-mayor Marjan Sarec for the presidency in a runoff despite winning the first round by a wide margin. Pahor won 47 percent, the election commission in the euro-area country of 2 million people said on Sunday. That fell short of the majority needed to clinch re-election in the first round. Sarec was runner up with 25 percent, and the two will face off again on Nov. 12. Forced out of government six years ago, when voters rejected his plan to address a financial crisis that almost drove the country into a Greece-like international bailout, Pahor, 53, has staged a comeback. He was elected to the mostly ceremonial presidency a year later and has built a strong lead in opinion polls.

Slovenia: President Pahor fails to win majority, faces runoff | Reuters

Slovenian President Borut Pahor will face a second-round election on Nov. 12 after he fell short of a majority in Sunday’s first round, as he tries to win a second five-year mandate. With 99 percent of the vote counted, according to the State Election Commission, Pahor had 47.1 percent of the vote. In next month’s runoff, he will face Marjan Sarec, the mayor of the city of Kamnik, who took 25 percent. Turnout reached 43.5 percent.  The result contradicted exit polls by TV Slovenia that showed Pahor winning in the first round. “In the second round anything is possible, although Pahor is a big favorite,” Peter Jancic, the editor of political website Spletni Casopis told Reuters.

Slovenia: Voters reject same-sex marriages in a referendum | Reuters

Slovenia rejected on Sunday a law that would give same-sex couples the right to marry and adopt children in its second vote on gay rights in four years. About 63.4 percent of voters rejected the law in a referendum while 36.6 percent supported it, a preliminary result of the State Electoral Commission showed after 99 percent of votes were counted. Parliament passed a law in March giving same-sex couples the right to marry and adopt children but the measures have not been enforced because a civil society group called For Children appealed to the top court, calling for a referendum.

Slovenia: Vote on gay marriage launched | Politico

EU politicians, including European commissioner Violeta Bulc, are urging Slovenia to back same-sex marriage as early voting begins Tuesday on a referendum that could overturn a controversial marriage equality law. If the country supports gay marriage — as Irish voters did in May 2015 — Slovenia would break new ground, becoming the first Central European, Slavic and post-Communist nation to do so. In contrast, more than 10 Western European countries have implemented same-sex marriage laws. The referendum results will be released Sunday. Voters are deciding whether to uphold a Slovenian law passed in March that legalizes gay marriage.

Slovenia: Recently Formed Center-Left Party Wins Slovenian Parliamentary Election | Wall Street Journal

A recently formed center-left party in Slovenia, started by a newcomer in politics, scored a landslide victory in a parliamentary election Sunday amid voters’ distrust in established parties and unease over state asset sales in this small euro zone-state, preliminary results of nearly 90% of votes counted by the State Election Commission showed. The result, if confirmed, can make Miro Cerar, a 50-year-old law professor, the country’s fourth prime minister since the 2008 start of a global downturn. Mr. Cerar, whose father is the country’s well-known Olympic medalist, launched his eponymous Party of Miro Cerar just five weeks ago. He quickly became popular among voters looking for a new leader untarnished by corruption scandals that have dogged some incumbent parties.

Slovenia: Six-Week-Old Slovenian Party Triumphs in Early Election | Bloomberg

The six-week-old party of Slovenian political newcomer Miro Cerar won a snap election on pledges to reconsider the state-asset sales that helped sink the previous government. Cerar’s party got 35 percent of the vote, beating jailed ex-Premier Janez Jansa’s Slovenian Democratic Party, which got 21 percent, the State Election Commission said yesterday with 99.9 percent of ballots counted. Karl Erjavec’s pensioners party, Desus, was third with 10 percent, while the United Left was fourth with 6 percent, according to the commission, based in Ljubljana, the capital. Turnout was 51 percent, it said. Cerar is set to form the fourth coalition government since 2008 in the former Yugoslav republic of 2 million, which pushed through a 3.2 billion-euro ($4.4 billion) banking rescue last year to avoid a bailout similar to fellow euro members Greece and Cyprus. His pledge to review outgoing Premier Alenka Bratusek’s privatization plan risks friction with the European Union, which backed the proposals to help bolster state coffers.

Slovenia: Gloomy Slovenians pin little hope on snap election | AFP

Jolanka Horvat has watched her home region of Pomurje, in Slovenia’s northeast, slide deeper into poverty and joblessness over the past few years. And the 53-year-old seamstress has little hope of change after Slovenia’s snap election this weekend, the third in less than three years. “Our kids will have to go abroad to make a living,” the mother of two told AFP ahead of Sunday’s vote. “I expect nothing from this nor any other government… they just make promises but nothing happens,” she said, a refrain echoed around the country.  Once a model member of the European Union which it joined in 2004, Slovenia was hit hard by the 2008 financial crisis and narrowly escaped a bailout last year.

Slovenia: Snap polls unlikely to end turmoil | Daily Times

Slovenians head to the polls on Sunday faced with a choice between a political novice and a former prime minister serving time for corruption and with little hope of returning their troubled country to stability. The vote will be the second early elections in three years for Slovenia, a once model member of the European Union that has been on a downward spiral since the 2008 financial crisis. Miro Cerar, a prestigious law professor, is favoured to win despite his lack of political experience, and analysts predict that any new government will not last long, spelling further instability for the small nation of two million. The Miro Cerar Party, which he founded only in June, is expected to win between 29 and 37 percent of the vote, according to the latest polls. The main opposition centre-right Slovenian Democratic Party, whose leader, former prime minister Janez Jansa, began serving a two-year prison sentence just last month, is meanwhile polling at 15 to 24 percent.

Slovenia: Prime Minister halts privatizations before election | Reuters

Slovenia is halting all privatizations until a new government is formed after a snap election on July 13, outgoing Prime Minister Alenka Bratusek said on Thursday, drawing a sharp response from the finance minister in her own government. Analysts said the move was aimed at raising Bratusek’s popularity with voters, who generally oppose attempts to sell local companies. Finance Minister Uros Cufer called the decision a part of “pre-election hysteria”. The decision could ultimately deter investors or bring down the prices of companies sold, analysts said, and delay much needed revenue for a country that had to inject 3.3 billion euros ($4.5 billion) into its banks in December to avoid an international bailout.

Slovenia: Police clash with protesters ahead of vote | Reuters

Police used water canon to break up rock-throwing protesters in Slovenia’s capital on Friday after a rally against budget cuts and alleged corruption turned violent two days ahead of a presidential election. Officers said it was the first time they had used that level of crowd control since the country’s independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 and 15 people, mostly policemen, were injured. Thousands of Slovenians took to the streets in Ljubljana and six other cities in the financially troubled euro zone country, the latest in a series of protests.

Slovenia: More street protests rock tiny EU nation Slovenia | CharlotteObserver.com

Slovenia’s prime minister is on trial accused of involvement in a bribery scandal. The main opposition leader – who is also mayor of the capital – is under investigation for alleged corruption. So is the mayor of the EU nation’s second-largest city. Slovenes say they have had enough. Chanting “Thieves!” several thousand people took to the streets again Monday in this small, crisis-hit Alpine state, rejecting what they call the country’s “corrupt elite.” Thousands also took to the streets last week in what has become biggest outburst of public discontent in decades, outrages that has seriously shaken the nation once praised for its smooth transition from communism to market economy.

Slovenia: Thousands protest in Slovenia fueling tensions ahead of runoff presidential election | The Washington Post

Clashes broke out Friday night in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana as angry demonstrators tried to push through a police cordon to storm parliament. Several protesters were arrested and police fought to disperse the crowd, which was throwing rocks, bottles and firecrackers at them. Tensions have been soaring ahead of this weekend’s presidential runoff in the small, economically struggling EU nation. Thousands joined the protests Friday against Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa and his Cabinet, accusing them of corruption and fraud and demanding their resignations.

Slovenia: Runoff expected in Slovenia presidential election | CBS News

No candidate appeared to win an outright majority in Sunday’s presidential election in Slovenia, and a runoff is expected next month between the incumbent and a former prime minister. Former Prime Minister Borut Pahor was first with 40 percent of the vote, followed by President Danilo Turk, with 36.2 percent and center-right candidate Milan Zver at 24 percent, the state election commission said after 99.9 percent of the ballots were counted. If that outcome holds when the commission announces the official results in the coming days, a runoff between the top two candidates will be held on Dec. 2.

Slovenia: Runoff Expected in Slovenia Presidential Election | ABC News

No candidate appeared to win an outright majority in Sunday’s presidential election in Slovenia, and a runoff is expected next month between the incumbent and a former prime minister. Former Prime Minister Borut Pahor was first with 40 percent of the vote, followed by President Danilo Turk, with 36.2 percent and center-right candidate Milan Zver at 24 percent, the state election commission said after 99.9 percent of the ballots were counted.

Slovenia: Slovenian opposition leader detained in probe | Boston.com

Slovenia’s main opposition leader was among five people briefly detained Thursday in an alleged multimillion-dollar corruption investigation into the building of a sports complex, investigators said. Police searched Zoran Jankovic’s house and his office in the capital, Ljubliana, where he is also mayor. His son, Jure Jankovic, a businessman, was also detained. Robert Crepinko, head of the National Bureau of Investigation, said police searched 23 homes in Slovenia in the probe into suspected irregularities with the sports hall in Ljubljana.

Slovenia: Slovenia’s legal framework provides sound basis for democratic elections, some aspects could benefit from further review, says ODIHR final report | OSCE

Slovenia’s early parliamentary polls on 4 December 2011 showed that the legislative framework provided a sound basis for the conduct of democratic elections, although certain aspects could benefit from further review. These are the conclusions of the final report released by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights on 7 February 2012. The report says that the election administration appeared to work efficiently and impartially while a wide selection of registered candidates provided a pluralism of choice for voters. The registration of candidate lists was inclusive and accommodated the appearance of new parties on the political scene. However, the report says that the provision of dual voting rights to citizens belonging to the Italian and Hungarian minorities diverges from the fundamental OSCE commitment regarding the equality of the vote and is at odds with international good practice.

Slovenia: Prime Minister calls for deal over early elections | New Age Online

Slovenia’s prime minister urged all political sides in the tiny EU state Friday to reach an agreement on early elections, after his coalition suffered a new blow this week.

“The political sphere has to reach an agreement on how to appoint a new government through early elections,” Borut Pahor wrote in a commentary published in the daily Vecer. “In the current complicated circumstances, a political crisis is a luxury we cannot afford and we have to take quick and energetic steps.”