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Politics ofSlovakia takes place in a framework of aparliamentaryrepresentative democraticrepublic, with amulti-party system.Legislative power is vested in the parliament and it can be exercised in some cases also by the government or directly by citizens.
Executive power is exercised by the government led by thePrime Minister. TheJudiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. ThePresident is the head of the state. TheEconomist Intelligence Unit rated Slovakia a "flawed democracy" in 2022.[2][needs update] According to theV-Dem Democracy indices Slovakia was 2023 the 18th most electoral democratic country in the world.[3]
Before theVelvet Revolution,Czechoslovakia was a socialist dictatorship ruled by theCommunist Party of Czechoslovakia, technically together with the coalition of the so-calledNational Front. Before the free democratic elections could take place after the revolution, atransitional government was created.
In 1989,President of CzechoslovakiaGustáv Husák was sworn in theGovernment of National Understanding (Czech:Vláda národního porozumění,Slovak:Vláda národného porozumenia) led byMarián Čalfa with the former beingabdicated. It consisted of ten communists and nine non-communists with the aim to prepare for democratic elections, establishmarket economy in the country, and start preparing a new constitution.
Between 8 and 9 June 1990, theCzechoslovak parliamentary election of 1990 took place. Čalfa's second government disbanded on 27 June 1990 when it was replaced by theGovernment of National Sacrifice (Czech:Vláda národní oběti,Slovak:Vláda národnej obete), also headed by Marián Čalfa. From 5 until 6 June 1992, the last elections in Czechoslovakia, theCzechoslovak parliamentary election of 1992 took place. Čalfa's third government disbanded on 2 July 1992, when it was replaced by theCaretaker Government of Jan Stráský (Vláda Jana Stráského), headed byJan Stráský. Thecaretaker government disbanded on 31 December 1992 together with theDissolution of Czechoslovakia.
Due tofederalism after the Velvet Revolution, two national governments (one for theCzech Republic, one for Slovakia) were created as well under the federal Czechoslovak government. In Slovakia it was headed byMilan Čič and it was established on 12 December 1989 and disbanded on 26 June 1990. Between 8 and 9 June 1990, the1990 Slovak parliamentary election took place together with the federal Czechoslovak elections. Čič's government was followed by the First Government ofVladimír Mečiar (1990–1991), Government ofJán Čarnogurský (1991–1992) and the Second Government ofVladimír Mečiar (1992–1994).
In September 2023, populist left-wingSmer-SSD, led by former prime ministerRobert Fico, won thegeneral election, taking 79 seats in a 150-seat parliament with its allies, the centre-leftHlas and nationalistSNS parties. The three parties agreed to form a coalition government.[4] On 25 October 2023, Robert Fico became new prime minister of Slovakia, announcing that the new government will stop Slovakia's military aid to Ukraine.[5] At his firstEU leaders meeting in Brussels, Prime Minister Robert Fico stated that Slovakia will not support further military aid for Ukraine nor support furthersanctions against Russia due to the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[6]
TheConstitution of the Slovak Republic was ratified on 1 September 1992 and became effective 1 October the same year (1 January 1993 in some parts). It was amended in September 1998 to allow direct election of the president and again in February 2001 due to EU admission requirements.
The civil law system is based on Austro-Hungarian codes. The legal code was modified to comply with the obligations of Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and to expunge the Marxist–Leninist legal theory. Slovakia accepts the compulsoryInternational Court of Justice jurisdiction with reservations.
| Office | Name | Party | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| President | Peter Pellegrini | Independent | 15 June 2024 |
| Prime Minister | Robert Fico | Smer | 25 October 2023 |
The president is the head of state and the formal head of the executive, though with very limited powers. The president is elected by direct, popular vote, under thetwo round system, for a five-year term. In March 2019,Zuzana Čaputová was elected as the first femalePresident of Slovakia. She was a member of the liberal Progressive Slovakia party, which did not have seats in parliament.[7]
Following National Council elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president. Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister has to receive the majority in the parliament. From July 2006 till July 2010 the coalition consisted ofSmer,SNS andHZDS. After the 2010 elections, a coalition was formed by the former opposition partiesSDKÚ,KDHMost–Híd, and newcomerFreedom and Solidarity. After the major elections from 2012 until 2016, the whole government consisted of members and nominees of the party SMER-SD, which also had majority in the parliament. The2016 Slovak parliamentary election gave a coalition of parties SMER-SD, SNS, and Most-Híd. After the2020 Slovak parliamentary election, theOrdinary People and Independent Personalities won the election andIgor Matovič became the Prime Minister.[8] In April 2021, prime ministerEduard Heger was sworn in two days after the resignation of his predecessor Igor Matovič. Heger was a close ally of Matovic and deputy head of his Ordinary People party.[9][10]
Since 25 October 2023, the prime minister of Slovakia has beenRobert Fico. Fico is the longest serving prime minister, if the years are counted cumulatively, with 11 years in total as of 2025.
| Office | Name | Party | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speaker of the National Council | Richard Raši | Hlas | 26 March 2025 |
Slovakia's sole constitutional and legislative body is the 150-seat unicameralNational Council of the Slovak Republic. Delegates are elected for 4-year terms on the basis ofproportional representation.
The National Council considers and approves the Constitution, constitutional statutes and other legal acts. It also approves the state budget. It elects some officials specified by law as well as the candidates for the position of a Justice of theConstitutional Court of the Slovak Republic and the Prosecutor General. Prior to their ratification, the parliament should approve all important international treaties. Moreover, it gives consent for dispatching of military forces outside of Slovakia's territory and for the presence of foreign military forces on the territory of the country.
18 years of age; universal, equal, and direct suffrage by secret ballot.
The president is elected by direct, popular vote, under thetwo-round system, for a five-year term. Two rounds of the last election occurred on 16 and 30 March 2019.
Members of the National Council of the Slovak Republic (Slovak:Národná rada Slovenskej Republiky), are elected directly for a four-year term, under theproportional representation system. Likethe Netherlands, the country is a single multi-member constituency. Voters may indicate their preferences within thesemi-open list. Theelection threshold is 5%.
The ruling coalition comprisingDirection – Social Democracy (Smer–SD), theSlovak National Party andMost–Híd, led byPrime MinisterPeter Pellegrini of Smer–SD, was defeated by theanti-corruption movementOrdinary People and Independent Personalities led byIgor Matovič. However, as no party or electoral coalition attained an absolute majority of seats, a post-election coalition was required to form a government.[11][12][13][14]
This election was also the first since2006 where Smer–SD did not emerge as the party with the most seats in theNational Council. Also, it was the first time that no party representing Hungarian community was elected. The coalition ofProgressive Slovakia andTogether failed to meet the 7% threshold for two-party coalitions to enter the parliament by only 926 votes, surprising analysts, as they had been several percentage points above the threshold required in opinion polls as recently as a few days before the election, and polled above the threshold in exit polls taken on election day. The coalition submitted an electoral complaint with theConstitutional Court on 12 March seeking a recount, although they did not have any expectation it would significantly change the results, and only did so in order to clear doubts about the democratic process.[15] In total 820,411 votes fell below theelectoral threshold, which is 28.47% of all valid votes.
 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | % | +/– | Seats | +/– | |
| OĽANO–NOVA–KÚ–ZZ | 721,166 | 25.03 | +14.00 | 53 | +34 | |
| Direction – Social Democracy | 527,172 | 18.29 | –9.99 | 38 | –11 | |
| We Are Family | 237,531 | 8.24 | +1.61 | 17 | +6 | |
| Kotlebists – People's Party Our Slovakia | 229,660 | 7.97 | –0.07 | 17 | +3 | |
| Progressive Slovakia–Together coalition | 200,780 | 6.97 | New | 0 | New | |
| Freedom and Solidarity | 179,246 | 6.22 | –5.88 | 13 | –8 | |
| For the People | 166,325 | 5.77 | New | 12 | New | |
| Christian Democratic Movement | 134,099 | 4.65 | –0.29 | 0 | 0 | |
| Hungarian Community Togetherness | 112,662 | 3.91 | –0.14 | 0 | 0 | |
| Slovak National Party | 91,171 | 3.16 | –5.48 | 0 | –15 | |
| Good Choice | 88,220 | 3.06 | New | 0 | New | |
| Homeland | 84,507 | 2.93 | New | 0 | New | |
| Bridge | 59,174 | 2.05 | –4.45 | 0 | –11 | |
| Socialists.sk | 15,925 | 0.55 | New | 0 | New | |
| We Have Had Enough! | 9,260 | 0.32 | New | 0 | New | |
| Andrej Hlinka's Slovak People's Party [sk] | 8,191 | 0.28 | New | 0 | New | |
| Democratic Party [sk] | 4,194 | 0.15 | +0.07 | 0 | 0 | |
| Solidarity – Working Poor Movement [sk] | 3,296 | 0.11 | New | 0 | New | |
| Mayors and Independents [sk] | 2,018 | 0.07 | New | 0 | New | |
| Slovak Revival Movement [sk] | 1,966 | 0.07 | New | 0 | New | |
| Voice of the Right [sk] | 1,887 | 0.07 | New | 0 | New | |
| Labour of the Slovak Nation | 1,261 | 0.04 | New | 0 | New | |
| 99% – Civic Voice | 991 | 0.03 | New | 0 | New | |
| Slovak League [sk] | 809 | 0.03 | New | 0 | New | |
| Total | 2,881,511 | 100.00 | – | 150 | 0 | |
| Valid votes | 2,881,511 | 98.88 | ||||
| Invalid/blank votes | 32,698 | 1.12 | ||||
| Total votes | 2,914,209 | 100.00 | ||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 4,432,419 | 65.75 | ||||
| Source:Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic | ||||||
| Group | Parties | Seats | +/– | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OĽANO–NOVA–Christian Union–Change from Below | Ordinary People and Independent Personalities–NOVA–Christian Union–Change from Below | 45 | +29 | ||
| Christian Union | 4 | +4 | |||
| NOVA | 2 | 0 | |||
| Change from Below | 2 | +1 | |||
| Direction – Social Democracy | 38 | –11 | |||
| We Are Family | 17 | +6 | |||
| Kotlebists – People's Party Our Slovakia | Kotlebists – People's Party Our Slovakia | 14 | 0 | ||
| Christian Democracy – Life and Prosperity | 3 | +3 | |||
| Freedom and Solidarity | Freedom and Solidarity | 12 | –8 | ||
| Civic Conservative Party | 1 | 0 | |||
| For the People | 12 | +12 | |||
| Region | OĽaNO–NOVA–KÚ–ZZ | Smer | We Are Family | ĽSNS | PS–Together | SaS | For the People | KDH | MKÖ/MKS | SNS | Good Choice | Homeland | Most–Híd | Other parties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bratislava Region | 26.32 | 12.04 | 6.42 | 4.62 | 14.24 | 12.26 | 9.18 | 4.22 | 0.86 | 1.96 | 3.00 | 2.53 | 1.02 | 1.33 |
| Trnava Region | 28.08 | 14.58 | 7.37 | 6.59 | 5.98 | 5.35 | 4.67 | 3.08 | 11.44 | 2.19 | 2.13 | 2.20 | 4.83 | 1.51 |
| Trenčín Region | 23.97 | 23.44 | 9.82 | 9.23 | 6.57 | 5.64 | 4.55 | 3.85 | 0.02 | 3.95 | 3.34 | 3.52 | 0.19 | 1.91 |
| Nitra Region | 23.03 | 17.76 | 8.28 | 7.36 | 5.16 | 4.95 | 4.32 | 2.73 | 12.31 | 2.99 | 2.79 | 2.29 | 4.45 | 1.58 |
| Žilina Region | 24.94 | 20.58 | 8.52 | 9.71 | 6.02 | 5.59 | 4.72 | 6.60 | 0.03 | 4.73 | 3.23 | 3.51 | 0.16 | 1.66 |
| Banská Bystrica Region | 21.68 | 20.41 | 9.25 | 10.62 | 6.27 | 5.47 | 4.85 | 3.03 | 4.11 | 3.10 | 3.24 | 2.66 | 3.24 | 2.07 |
| Prešov Region | 25.63 | 20.99 | 8.39 | 8.50 | 4.37 | 4.08 | 6.15 | 8.37 | 0.04 | 3.69 | 3.54 | 3.51 | 0.70 | 2.04 |
| Košice Region | 26.28 | 17.54 | 8.36 | 7.76 | 5.46 | 5.19 | 6.51 | 4.41 | 4.66 | 2.65 | 3.07 | 3.09 | 2.72 | 2.30 |
| Foreign | 14.11 | 2.37 | 1.46 | 4.52 | 33.30 | 8.75 | 27.11 | 2.82 | 0.81 | 0.36 | 0.67 | 2.03 | 0.36 | 1.33 |
| Total | 25.03 | 18.29 | 8.24 | 7.97 | 6.96 | 6.22 | 5.77 | 4.65 | 3.90 | 3.16 | 3.06 | 2.93 | 2.05 | 1.73 |
The Slovak political scene supports a wide spectrum of political parties including the communists (KSS) and the nationalists (SNS). New parties arise and old parties cease to exist or merge at a frequent rate. Major parties are members of theEuropean political parties. Some parties have regional strongholds, for exampleSMK is supported mainly by theHungarian minority living in southern Slovakia. Although the main political cleavage in the 1990s concerned the somewhat authoritarian policy ofHZDS, the left-right conflict over economic reforms (principally betweenDirection – Social Democracy andSlovak Democratic and Christian Union – Democratic Party) has recently become the dominant power in Slovakia's politics.
The country's highest appellate forum is theSupreme Court (Najvyšší súd), the judges of which are elected by the National Council; below that are regional, district, and military courts. In certain cases the law provides for decisions of tribunals of judges to be attended by lay judges from the citizenry. Slovakia also has theConstitutional Court of Slovakia (Ústavný súd Slovenskej Republiky), which rules on constitutional issues. The 13 members of this court are appointed by the president from a slate of candidates nominated by Parliament.
Parliament passed legislation which created a 18-member Judicial Council in 2002 consisting of judges, law professors, and other legal experts, is responsible for the nomination of judges. All judges except those of the Constitutional Court are appointed by the president from a list proposed by the Judicial Council. The council also is responsible for appointing Disciplinary Senates in cases of judicial misconduct.
Slovakia is member ofACCT (observer),Australia Group,BIS,BSEC (observer),CE,CEI,CERN,European Audiovisual Observatory,EAPC,EBRD,EIB,EU,FAO,IAEA,IBRD,ICAO, ICC[clarification needed],ICCt,ICRM,IDA,IEA,IFC,IFRCS,ILO,IMF,IMO,Interpol,IOC,IOM,ISO,ITU,ITUC,MIGA,NAM (guest),NATO,NEA,NSG, OAS[clarification needed] (observer),OECD,OPCW,OSCE,PCA,UN,UNAMSIL,UNCTAD,UNDOF,UNESCO,UNFICYP,UNIDO,UNTSO,UPU,Visegrád Group,WCO,WEU (associate partner),WFTU,WHO,WIPO,WMO,WToO,WTO,ZC
