How to Form a Government?
The electorate cast their votes at the general elections the 3rd of October. The formal election results will be published on the 13th of October and after that the formation of new government is to take place.
Regardless of the fact that new members of parliament are practically at the doorstep of the parliament, the mandate of the current representatives of the nation has not yet expired . Their mandate will terminate only upon the formation of the new National Assembly, that is at the first session, which has to be convened by the President of Slovenia no later than 20 days after the elections. However, the new National Assembly must be convened no later than by 23rd October.
The President of the Republic has also another important role. After consultations with the leaders of parliamentary groups, he nominates a candidate for the position of the Prime Minister to the National Assembly, at the latest 30 days after the formation of the National Assembly. The vote for the position of Prime Minister has to take place after receiving the candidate’s nomination; at the earliest 48 hours and at the latest 7 days. The nominated candidate presents the programme for the foundation of the Government at a session of the National Assembly. The Prime Minister is elected in a secret ballot and has to get a majority of the votes of all the deputies (at least 46). If the candidate is not successfully elected in the first ballot, another election for Prime Minister can be held, involving new candidates. New candidates have to be nominated 14 days at the latest after the session at which the first ballot took place.
A candidate (a new one or the same one) can be nominated by the President of the Republic, a parliamentary group or by group of at least ten deputies. If there is more than one nomination, there is a separate ballot for each one. The first ballot is for the candidate nominated by the President of the Republic. If this candidate is not elected, further ballots take place according to the order of nominations. Once a nominated candidate is elected, there are no more ballots for candidates nominated at a later date.
If no candidate is elected, the President of the Republic dissolves the National Assembly and calls a new general election unless, within 48 hours, the National Assembly, with a majority of the decided votes of those deputies who are present, decides to hold a new vote for Prime Minister. To be elected, it is enough to get the majority of the decided votes of the deputies who are present. The order of this new round of ballots is determined by the number of votes the candidates received in the previous elections, followed by the new candidates nominated up to the moment of the elections, among which the candidate nominated by the President of the Republic has precedence over the others. If no candidate gets a majority in these votes, the President of the Republic dissolves the National Assembly and calls for a new general election.
Once the Prime Minister has been elected, he has, within 15 days of the election, to propose a candidate list of ministers to the President of the National Assembly. If the Prime Minister fails to submit the proposal for the composition of the Government within the prescribed time, the National Assembly can give a deadline by which it has to be submitted. If he fails to submit a proposal by even this date, the National Assembly determines that the Prime Minister’s functions have ceased.
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