Slovenian president sets general election

President of Slovenia Nataša Pirc Musar intends to call the next parliamentary election for 22 March 2026.

The date will be made official in early January, she said ahead of what is shaping up to be a highly competitive vote, with opinion polls suggesting that forming a governing coalition may prove challenging, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.

Slovenia heads into a pivotal election year in 2026 as the general election in March will be followed by local elections in November.

In October, Pirc Musar said the general election would be held in March but suggested three possible dates, and she has now narrowed it down to one. Hosting a New Year's reception for the media on 22 December, she said the official writs would be issued at the beginning of January.

Under the law, general elections are held between 135 and 75 days before the fourth anniversary of the maiden session of the sitting parliament. Once the official writs are issued, the vote must be held within 60-90 days.

Fragmented political landscape

The election campaign is likely to be affected by broader geopolitical developments as well as domestic issues such as the ongoing conversation on Roma-related issues and failed integration efforts in the wake of a fatal incident involving a Roma perpetrator. Recently, emotions were running high after the prime suspect in the high-profile case was released from custody, but a new suspect has since been detained.

Another possible factor affecting the campaign is ongoing court or criminal proceedings involving senior politicians, including Prime Minister Robert Golob and some prominent opposition figures.

The political landscape has fragmented since the last election, when only five parties entered parliament. New parties have since emerged on both the left and right, and several parties with more radical platforms also plan to run.

According to all recent opinion polls, the opposition Democratic Party (SDS) remains the most popular political force several months before the election, with the ruling Freedom Movement party in second place. The difference between them has narrowed, shows one of the latest surveys.

Parties' recent ratings

Commissioned by public broadcaster RTV Slovenija and released on 21 December, the poll found that if elections were held now, the SDS would win 21.1% of the vote, down from 21.4% in November. The Freedom Movement ranked second with 17.5%, up nearly one percentage point from the previous month.

The Social Democrats, a junior coalition party, are in third place, followed by the junior opposition party New Slovenia (NSi).

Most parties have seen slight upward or downward trends in ratings, except for the populist anti-establishment Truth party, whose rating stayed the same at 4.2%. The party, which is currently not in parliament, placed fifth.

The only other remaining parliamentary party is the Left, which intends to contest the election together with the Green Party Vesna. They polled at 3.7%, slightly lower than the Left did on its own in November.

Other parties that have entered the fray are the Democrats, which were at 3.5%, We, the Socialists!, which polled at 3%, and Renaissance with 2.4%.

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Photo: Nebojša Tejić/STA