2006 Slovak parliamentary election

2006 Slovak parliamentary election

17 June 2006
All 150 seats in the National Council 76 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	2,335,917 (54.67%) 15.40 pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader Robert Fico Mikuláš Dzurinda Ján Slota Party SMER–SD SDKÚ-DS SNS Last election 25 seats, 13.5% 28 seats, 15.1% 0 seats, 3.3% Seats won 50 31 20 Seat change 25 3 20 Popular vote 671,185 422,815 270,230 Percentage 29.1% 18.4% 11.7% Swing 15.7 pp 3.3 pp 8.4 pp   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Béla Bugár Vladimír Mečiar Pavol Hrušovský Party SMK ĽS–HZDS KDH Last election 20 seats, 11.2% 36 seats, 19.5% 15 seats, 8.3% Seats won 20 15 14 Seat change 0 21 1 Popular vote 269,111 202,540 191,443 Percentage 11.7% 8.8% 8.3% Swing 0.5 pp 10.7 pp 0.1%
Results of the election, showing vote strength by district.
Prime Minister before election Mikuláš Dzurinda SDKÚ-DS Prime Minister Robert Fico SMER–SD

Parliamentary elections were held in Slovakia on 17 June 2006. Direction – Social Democracy emerged as the largest party in the National Council, winning 50 of the 150 seats. Its leader Robert Fico was appointed Prime Minister on 4 July 2006, leading a three-party centre-left populist coalition.

Background

Originally the election was planned for 16 September 2006. However, on 8 February the government proposed calling an early election after the Christian Democratic Movement left the coalition government. This proposal was passed by the Parliament on 9 February and signed by the President on 13 February. For the first time Slovak citizens living abroad could vote, using absentee ballots. A total of 21 parties contested the elections.

Results

Party		Votes	%	Swing	Seats	+/–
bgcolor=Template:Direction – Social Democracy/meta/color |	Direction – Social Democracy	671,185	29.14	+15.68	50	+25
bgcolor=Template:Slovak Democratic and Christian Union – Democratic Party/meta/color|	Slovak Democratic and Christian Union – Democratic Party	422,815	18.36	3.26	31	+3
bgcolor=Template:Slovak National Party/meta/color|	Slovak National Party	270,230	11.73	+8.41	20	+20
bgcolor=Template:Party of the Hungarian Community/meta/color|	Party of the Hungarian Coalition	269,111	11.68	+0.52	20	0
bgcolor=Template:People's Party – Movement for a Democratic Slovakia/meta/color|	People's Party – Movement for a Democratic Slovakia	202,540	8.79	–10.71	15	–21
	Christian Democratic Movement	191,443	8.31	+0.06	14	–1
bgcolor=Template:Communist Party of Slovakia/meta/color|	Communist Party of Slovakia	89,418	3.88	–2.44	0	–11
	Free Forum	79,963	3.47	New	0	New
bgcolor=Template:Alliance of the New Citizen/meta/color|	Alliance of the New Citizen	32,775	1.42	–6.59	0	–15
	Social Democratic Alternative	14,728	0.64	–1.16	0	0
	Hope	14,595	0.63	New	0	New
	Left Bloc	9,174	0.40	+0.17	0	0
bgcolor=Template:Union of the Workers of Slovakia/meta/color|	Union of the Workers of Slovakia	6,864	0.30	–0.25	0	0
	Civic Conservative Party	6,262	0.27	–0.06	0	0
	Slovak National Coalition–Slovak Reciprocity	4,016	0.17	New	0	New
	Slovak People's Party	3,815	0.17	New	0	New
	Agrarian and Countryside Party	3,160	0.14	New	0	New
	Prosperity of Slovakia	3,118	0.14	New	0	New
	Party of the Democratic Left	2,906	0.13	New	0	New
	Mission 21–New Christian Democracy	2,523	0.11	New	0	New
	Party of Civic Solidarity	2,498	0.11	New	0	New
Invalid/blank votes		32,778	–	–	–	–
Total		2,335,917	100	0	150	0
Registered voters/turnout		4,272,517	54.67	–15.40	–	–
Source: Nohlen & Stöver, European Elections Database

Popular vote SMER-SD   29.14% SDKÚ-DS   18.36% SNS   11.73% SMK   11.68% ĽS-HZDS   8.79% KDH   8.31% KSS   3.88% SF   3.47% ANO   1.42% Other   3.20%

Parliamentary seats SMER-SD   33.33% SDKÚ-DS   20.67% SNS   13.33% SMK   13.33% ĽS-HZDS   10.00% KDH   9.33%

Aftermath

On 28 June Fico announced that the government coalition would consist of his Smer-SD party, together with the Slovak National Party and People's Party - Movement for a Democratic Slovakia. The Party of European Socialists (PES) criticized this decision because of nationalist statements of the leader of the Slovak National Party and subsequently suspended Smer-SD's membership.

External links

• Official results
• Slovak Election Data Project
• Electoral Geography
• BBC coverage of election results