Election to the National Council in Slovakia in 1998
The 1998 parliamentary elections in Slovakia for the National Council took place on Friday and Saturday, September 25th and 26th, 1998. A total of 150 parliamentary seats were available. It was the second National Council election since Slovakia's independence in 1993.
The election was seen as a turning point in Slovakia's modern history , as it ended the country's isolation during the previous phase of so-called " Mečiarism " and marked the beginning of rapid integration with the West and neoliberal reforms .
Electoral system
The National Council was elected using proportional representation. There was a threshold clause of 5% for individual parties, 7% for a coalition of two to three parties and 10% for four or more parties. The legislative period was 4 years.
Participating parties and candidates
17 political parties and movements with a total of 2,619 candidates ran for election.
choice
The turnout was very high at 84.24% and represented a significant increase compared to the previous election year.
A total of around 4 million eligible voters were invited to vote on September 25 and 26, 1998.
Election result
The Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) was the narrow winner of the election with 27% of the vote, but it suffered the most losses. In second place came the newly founded Slovak Democratic Coalition (SDK) voters' association; it reached 26.33% from the state. The third and fourth strongest parties were the Democratic Left Party (SDĽ) with 14.66% and the party of the Hungarian coalition with 9.12%. One of the previous coalition partners, the Slovak National Party (SNS) was able to gain votes and achieved 9.07%. The also newly founded party of bourgeois understanding (SOP) received 8.01% of the vote and moved into the National Council with 13 members. The other coalition partner, the Workers' Association of Slovakia (ZRS) failed at the 5% hurdle and thus lost all 13 mandates.
| Political party | be right | Seats | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| number | % | +/- | number | +/- | ||
| Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) | 907.103 | 27.00 | −7.96 | 43 | −15 | |
| Slovak Democratic Coalition (SDK) (1) | 884.497 | 26.33 | New | 42 | New | |
| Party of the Democratic Left (SDĽ) | 492.507 | 14.66 | +4.25 | 23 | +5 | |
| Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK-MKP) | 306.623 | 9.12 | −1.06 | 15th | −2 | |
| Slovak National Party (SNS) | 304,839 | 9.07 | +3.67 | 14th | +5 | |
| Party of Civil Understanding (SOP) | 269,343 | 8.01 | New | 13 | New | |
| Communist Party of Slovakia (KSS) | 94.015 | 2.79 | −0.04 | - | - | |
| Workers' Association of Slovakia (ZRS) | 43,809 | 1.30 | −6.04 | - | −13 | |
| Our Slovakia (NSK) | 16,192 | 0.48 | New | - | New | |
| Slovak People's Party (SĽS) | 9.227 | 0.27 | New | - | New | |
| Hungarian Popular Movement for Reconciliation and Prosperity (MĽHZP) | 6,587 | 0.19 | New | - | New | |
| Independent Initiative of the Slovak Republic (NEI) | 6.232 | 0.18 | New | - | New | |
| Slovak National Unit (SNJ) | 4,688 | 0.13 | New | - | New | |
| Das B - Revolutionary Workers Party (B-RRS) | 4,391 | 0.13 | New | - | New | |
| United Party of Workers of Slovakia (JSP) | 3,574 | 0.10 | New | - | New | |
| National Alternative of Slovakia (NaAS) | 3,034 | 0.09 | New | - | New | |
| Third Way Movement (HTC) | 2,515 | 0.07 | New | - | New | |
| total | 3,359,176 | 100.00 | 150 | |||
| Valid votes | 3,359,176 | 99.22 | +0.86 | |||
| Invalid votes | 30,170 | 0.78 | −0.86 | |||
| voter turnout | 3,389,346 | 84.24 | +8.59 | |||
| Non-voters | 633.845 | 15.76 | −8.59 | |||
| Eligible voters | 4,023,191 | |||||
| Source: Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic | ||||||
(1) Voters' association made up of DÚ , KDH , DS , SDSS and SZS
consequences
Since all other parties except the SNS ruled out cooperation with the HZDS, the latter had to go into the opposition. The final coalition of SDK, SMK, SDĽ and SOP ( government Dzurinda I , so-called "government of the turn") led by Mikuláš Dzurinda , began to govern on October 30, 1998. It held a two-thirds majority with 93 out of 150 seats . This enabled changes to be made to the constitution : since 1999, the president has no longer been elected by the National Council, but directly by the people.
The country was also rehabilitated in other areas: the new government increased its focus on western states and the EU ; the domestic political situation also stabilized. On the other hand, the new government had to take unpopular measures to keep the growing deficit down.
Web links
- Slovak Statistical Office Official Website (Slovak, English)
- National Council official website (Slovak, English)
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Official result of the National Council election 1998 Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic (Slovak)
- ^ Opposition wins 93 of 150 seats The Slovak Spectator , October 5, 1998 (English)
- ↑ [1] and [2]
