Early parliamentary elections were held in the Slovak Republic on 30 September 2023 to elect members of the National Council. Regular elections were scheduled to be held in 2024. However, on 15 December 2022, the government lost a no-confidence vote. Subsequently, the National Council amended the Constitution so that an early election could be held on 30 September 2023. This was the first snap election in the country since 2012.

The left-wing populist and social conservative Direction – Social Democracy (Smer-SD), led by former Prime Minister Robert Fico, emerged as the largest party, winning 42 seats. The social-liberal and pro-European Progressive Slovakia (PS) came in second, with 32 seats. Former Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini's social-democratic Voice – Social Democracy (Hlas-SD), which split from Smer-SD in 2020, came in third with 27 seats. The conservative OĽaNO and its allies won 16 seats, less than a quarter of their total in the 2020 election. The Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) and the right-wing populist Slovak National Party (SNS) re-entered the National Council after failing to achieve the vote threshold in 2020, winning twelve and ten seats respectively. The classical liberal Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) won eleven seats, tying the 2012 election as their worst result since the party's founding.

As no single party or alliance reached the 76 seats needed for a majority, a coalition government was needed. A coalition government of Smer-SD, Hlas-SD, and SNS was formed. A new government with Robert Fico as prime minister was sworn in on 25 October 2023.

Background Prior to the previous election, the Slovak Republic experienced a period of political turbulence, triggered by the murder of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová in 2018. The incident led to widespread protests and the resignation of then-Prime Minister Robert Fico.

The election itself was won by the movement of Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OĽaNO) led by Igor Matovič. The party emerged as the victor, gaining over a quarter of the popular vote, which translated to 53 seats in the 150-seat National Council. OĽaNO formed a coalition government with several other parties, ending the long-standing dominance of Direction – Social Democracy (SMER–SD).

Electoral system The 150 members of the National Council were elected by proportional representation in a single nationwide constituency with an electoral threshold of 5% for single parties, 7% for coalitions of two or three parties, and 10% for coalitions of four or more parties. The election used the open list system, with seats allocated using largest remainder method with Hagenbach-Bischoff quota.Slovak law 180/2014 § 68 Voters were able to cast up to four preferential votes for candidates of the selected party.

All citizens of the Slovak Republic were allowed to vote except for citizens under 18 years of age, felons in prison convicted of serious offenses, and people declared ineligible to perform legal acts by court. Voters abroad on election day were allowed to vote by mail. All citizens 21 years of age or older on the election day and are permanent residents of Slovakia, were allowed to run as candidates except for prisoners, convicted felons, and those declared ineligible to perform legal acts by court. All participating parties must register 90 days before election day and pay a deposit of €17,000 which would be refunded to all parties gaining at least 3% of the votes.

Voters not present in their electoral district at the time of the elections were allowed to request a voting certificate (voličský preukaz), which allowed them to vote in any district regardless of their residency. Voters abroad on election day were allowed to request a postal vote. According to the Central Election Committee, approximately 72,000 citizens of the Slovak Republic living abroad had requested a postal vote for the election. The deadline for requests passed on 9 August 2023.

Political parties and lead candidates

+Parties on the ballot#ListMain ideologyLead candidatePrevious election (2020)2023Votes (%)SeatsSeats3Progressive SlovakiaPSMichal Šimečka5OĽaNO and Friends: Ordinary People, Independent Candidates, NOVA, Free and Responsible, Respectful Romani, Hungarian Hearts and the Christian Union and For the PeopleOĽaNO–NEKA–NOVA–Free and Responsible–Respectful Romani–Hungarian Hearts–KÚ–For the PeoplePopulismIgor Matovič12Freedom and SolidaritySaSRichard Sulík15Slovak National PartySNSUltranationalismAndrej Danko16Direction – Social DemocracySmer17Voice – Social DemocracyHlasPeter Pellegrini——23Christian Democratic MovementKDHMilan Majerský

Television debates 2023 Slovak parliamentary electionDateBroadcasters OĽANOSmer–SDSRĽSNSPSDSaSKDHAlianciaMFSNSModrí, HídHlas–SDREPPirátiPRINCÍPSOSKSSVBSHOSRDCESDKÚ-DSKARMA 3 Sep 2023JOJ 24(150th candidates)PPPNIANIPPNINIPNIAPNININININININININININI 19 Sep 2023Jednotka/RSNININININININININININININININISSNIPNINIPNINIP 20 Sep 2023TV JOJ/JOJ 24 PNIPNINININIPNINIPNINIPNININININININININININI 20 Sep 2023Jednotka/RSNINININININININININININININIPNINIPNIPPNINIPNI 21 Sep 2023TV JOJ/JOJ 24 NIPNINIPNIPNININININIPNINININININININININININI 21 Sep 2023Jednotka/RSNININISNININININISNISNINININININININININISNINI 22 Sep 2023TV MarkízaNININININININININININININININISPNIPPPNININIP 23 Sep 2023TV MarkízaNINININININININININININININIPNINIPNININIPSPNI 24 Sep 2023TV MarkízaNININISNISNINIPPNIPNININININININININININININI 25 Sep 2023Jednotka/RSPNINININISNINISNINININININININININININININININI 25 Sep 2023TA3SNISNINININIPPNIPNINININININININININININININI 25 Sep 2023TV MarkízaPAPNIPNIPPNINIPNISPNININININININININININI 26 Sep 2023(cancelled)TV MarkízaNNNININNINININININININNINININININININININININI 26 Sep 2023Jednotka/RSNINISNININISSNINIPNINISNININININININININININI 26 Sep 2023TA3NIPNINIPNIPNININININIPPNININININININININININI 27 Sep 2023Jednotka/RSNIPNINIPNININININININIPNINININININININININININI

Opinion polls

Issues and developments

2023 election issues included high inflation, Slovakia's position on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the related global energy crisis, COVID-19, internal fights within the previous government, corruption scandals and immigration;"A NATO country could soon have a pro-Russian leader," updated September 28, 2023, CNN, retrieved September 29, 2023"Slovakia’s knife-edge election to determine stance on Ukraine," September 27, 2023, Reuters in Al Jazeera, retrieved September 29, 2023 questions of rights and values (particularly LGBTQ+ issues) were covered during the campaign by Al Jazeera English, BBC"Ukraine war: Slovakia's Robert Fico eyes comeback in Saturday's election," September 29, 2023, BBC, retrieved September 29, 2023 and Pravda.

By the week of the election, popularity polls indicated that the two strongest parties were the Progressive Slovakia (led by pro-European Michal Šimečka, a member of the European Parliament (EP) since 2019, and EP Vice-President since 2022, who has committed to maintaining support for Ukraine) and Smer-SD (headed by Robert Fico, three-time former prime minister, who has committed to ending Slovakia's support for Ukraine); however, neither appeared to be commanding a majority, and the BBC projected neither would top 20% of the vote, so each would have to attempt to build a coalition with other parties to achieve the majority needed to rule. Consequently, as many as 10 parties could wind up in the government.

The third-largest party, which tipped the balance in favor of Robert Fico, is Hlas–SD (Voice), the moderate-left party of Peter Pellegrini (formerly of Smer-SD, and former prime minister, 2018–20).

Results

Results by parties +GroupPartySeats+/– Direction – Social Democracy42 +4 Progressive Slovakia32 +32 Voice – Social Democracy27+27Slovakia–Christian Union–For the PeopleSlovakia12–33Christian Union2–2For the People1–11NOVA1–1Freedom and SolidarityFreedom and Solidarity10–2Civic Conservative Party10Christian Democratic Movement12+12Slovak National PartyNational Coalition3+3Life – National Party30Slovak National Party1+1Independents3+3

Results by region Region Smer–SD PS Hlas–SD OĽaNOand Friends KDH SaS SNS Republic Alliance Democrats We AreFamily People's PartyOur Slovakia KSSOther parties Bratislava Region 18.5431.00 10.36 6.17 4.90 12.50 4.31 3.14 0.91 4.43 1.78 0.57 0.20 1.08 Trnava Region22.01 17.07 12.11 9.40 4.56 5.36 4.43 4.38 12.69 2.92 2.19 0.81 0.40 1.56 Trenčín Region29.47 16.63 16.40 5.93 5.44 5.63 7.28 5.45 0.03 2.84 2.22 1.06 0.46 1.03 Nitra Region25.31 14.42 14.40 7.47 4.06 4.80 4.51 4.46 13.91 2.19 2.01 0.80 0.26 1.24 Žilina Region25.79 15.51 16.04 6.90 9.38 5.56 8.11 5.61 0.02 2.80 2.02 0.96 0.34 0.89 Banská Bystrica Region22.89 14.96 19.76 7.41 4.29 5.14 6.53 5.18 5.17 2.40 2.73 1.33 0.43 1.67 Prešov Region22.04 10.83 16.16 14.78 14.07 4.10 5.73 5.22 0.07 2.65 2.36 0.63 0.31 0.98 Košice Region21.10 14.68 15.08 13.46 6.80 5.74 4.38 4.97 5.44 2.98 2.75 0.76 0.33 1.41 Foreign 6.1061.70 2.46 3.81 3.31 10.80 3.79 3.20 0.47 2.50 0.55 0.38 0.04 0.76 Total22.94 17.96 14.70 8.89 6.82 6.32 5.62 4.75 4.38 2.93 2.21 0.84 0.33 1.16

Aftermath As analysts predicted, Peter Pellegrini's Hlas-SD played the role of kingmaker in the "jockeying" that characterized the election's aftermath. Two viable coalitions emerged: one consisting of Fico's Smer-SD, Hlas-SD, and SNS; the other of Hlas-SD, PS, KDH, and SaS. On 2 October 2023, two days after the election, president Zuzana Čaputová tasked Fico, as the leader of the now-largest parliamentary party, with forming a government within 14 days. On 3 October, she held "informal discussions" with PS's leader Michal Šimečka about the possibility of a PS-led coalition before meeting with Pellegrini and KDH's Milan Majerský. Following this meeting, Pellegrini stated that his party was not ruling out either coalition.

According to SNS leader Andrej Danko, the ensuing negotiations revolved around Pellegrini's future role. Fico allegedly offered Pellegrini the role of Speaker of the National Council, while Šimečka was willing to support Pellegrini for Prime Minister in exchange for PS receiving the Ministry of the Interior. On 10 October, Hlas-SD announced that it had rejected PS's offer. On 11 October, Smer-SD, Hlas-SD, and SNS ratified their coalition agreement, according to which they were to receive 6, 7, and 3 ministerial portfolios, respectively.

On 12 October, the Party of European Socialists (PES) suspended Smer-SD and Hlas-SD over their plans to enter into coalition with SNS, which the PES views as a "radical-right party." One week later, on 19 October, Čaputová announced she would not approve the coalition government's nominee for Minister of Environment, Rudolf Huliak (SNS), due to his avowed climate change denialism. This delayed the swearing-in of the new government. After the coalition partners replaced Huliak with Tomáš Taraba (also SNS) as their nominee for the post, Čaputová accepted the coalition's government. She swore in the new government, with Fico at its helm, on 25 October.

Foreign interference allegations In July 2025, the Slovak government under Fico accused the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of paying influencers to boost the Progressive Slovakia party during the election, citing a report by investigative website Declassified UK. The United Kingdom denied efforts to influence the election and stated that the activity was aimed at boosting youth turnout regardless of party.

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