National Council (Slovakia)

The National Council of the Slovak Republic (Slovak: Národná rada Slovenskej republiky), abbreviated to NR SR, is the national parliament of Slovakia. It is unicameral and consists of 150 members, who are elected by universal suffrage under proportional representation with seats distributed via Hagenbach-Bischoff quota every four years.[1]

Not to be confused with Slovak National Council.
National Council of the Slovak Republic

Národná rada Slovenskej republiky
Type
Type
Leadership
Boris Kollár, We Are Family
since 20 March 2020
Structure
Seats150
Political groups
Government (95)
  •   Ordinary People (53)
  •   We Are Family (17)
  •   Freedom and Solidarity (13)
  •   For the People (12)

Opposition (55)

Elections
Open list proportional representation with a 5% election threshold (7% for two-, three-party alliances; 10% for four-or-more party alliance) Hagenbach-Bischoff system
Last election
29 February 2020
Next election
TBD
Meeting place
Parliament Building, Bratislava
Website
http://www.nrsr.sk/
Slovakia
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Slovakia
Constitution
Executive
Legislature
Recent elections
Political parties
Administrative divisions
Foreign relations
 Slovakia portal

Slovakia's parliament has been called the 'National Council' since 1 October 1992. From 1969 to 1992, its predecessor, the parliament of the Slovak part of Czechoslovakia, was called the Slovak National Council (Slovak: Slovenská národná rada).

The National Council approves domestic legislation, constitutional laws, and the annual budget. Its consent is required to ratify international treaties, and is responsible for approving military operations. It also elects individuals to some positions in the executive and judiciary, as specified by law.[2]

The parliament building is in Bratislava, Slovakia's capital, next to Bratislava Castle in Alexander Dubček Square.

Functions

The 150-seat unicameral National Council of the Slovak Republic is Slovakia's sole constitutional and legislative body.[3] It considers and approves the constitution, constitutional amendments, and other legislation.[4] It approves the state budget.[4] It elects some officials specified by law, as well as justices of the Constitutional Court and the prosecutor general.[5][6] Prior to their ratification, the parliament also should approve all important international treaties.[4] 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 Slovak Republic.[4]

Decision-making

The parliament may vote only if a majority of all its members (76) are present. To pass a decision, the approval of a simple majority of all MPs present is required. Almost all legal acts can be adopted by this relative majority. An absolute majority (76 votes) is required to pass a vote of no-confidence in the cabinet or its members, or to elect and recall the Council's speaker or the deputy speakers. A qualified majority of 3/5 of all deputies (at least 90 votes) is required for the adoption of a constitution or a constitutional statute.[7]

Speakers

For the speakers see: List of speakers of Slovak parliaments

The current speaker of the Slovak National Council is Boris Kollár.[8]

Structure of former legislatures

The length of the bars underneath represents each party's electoral performance. The difference in the total width of the bars is due to the election threshold of 5%; this threshold prevents a varying number of small parties from entering the National Council (most notably, after the 1994 election).

Slovak Parliament 1990–1992
22 7 48 6 31 14 22
KSČ DS VPN SZ KDH ESWMK SNS

Slovak Parliament 1992–1994
29 18 74 14 15
SDĽ KDH HZDS MKM-EGYU SNS

Slovak Parliament 1994–1998
18 13 15 17 61 17 9
SV ZRS DÚ KDH HZDS-RSS SMK-MKP SNS

Slovak Parliament 1998–2002
23 13 42 43 15 14
SDĽ SOP SDK HZDS SMK-MKP SNS

Slovak Parliament 2002–2006
11 25 15 28 15 36 20
KSS Smer ANO SDKÚ-DS KDH ĽS-HZDS SMK-MKP

Slovak Parliament 2006–2010
50 31 14 15 20 20
Smer-SD SDKÚ-DS KDH ĽS-HZDS SMK-MKP SNS

Slovak Parliament 2010–2012
62 14 28 15 22 9
Smer-SD Most-Híd SDKÚ-DS KDH SaS SNS

Slovak Parliament 2012–2016
83 13 11 16 16 11
Smer-SD Most-Híd SDKÚ-DS KDH OĽaNO SaS

Slovak Parliament 2016–2020
49 10 11 19 21 11 15 14
Smer-SD #Network Most–Híd OĽaNO- NOVA SaS We Are Family SNS ĽSNS

Slovak Parliament 2020–
38 12 53 13 17 17
Smer-SD For the People OĽaNO SaS We Are Family ĽSNS

Elections

Members of the parliament are elected directly for a 4-year term, under the proportional system. Although the suffrage is universal, only a citizen who has the right to vote, has attained 18 years of age and has permanent residency in the Slovak Republic is eligible to be elected. Similarly to the Netherlands and Israel, the whole country forms one multi-member constituency. The election threshold is 5%. Voters may indicate their preferences within the semi-open list. Parliamentary elections were last held in 2020.

Latest election

2020 Slovak Parliamentary Election

Members (1990–present)

Buildings
Building of the National Council of the Slovak Republic next to Bratislava Castle.

The main parliament building is situated next to the Bratislava Castle on the castle hill. The building is insufficiently large to accommodate all officials and representatives. This is because it was built during the Czechoslovak period, when the legislature usually met in Prague.[9] The secondary parliament building, which was the main building until 1994, is situated next to the Trinitarian Church below the castle hill in Bratislava.

References
  1. "Zákon o podmienkach výkonu volebného práva a o zmene a doplnení niektorých zákonov" [Act on the Conditions for the Exercise of the Right to Vote and on Amendments to Certain Acts]. Article 68, Act No. 180/2014 of 29 May 2014. National Council of the Slovak Republic.
  2. "Postavenie a právomoci". NR SR (in Slovak). Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  3. "Constitution of the Slovak Republic". Article 72, Constitution of 1992 (PDF). National Council of the Slovak Republic. p. 29.
  4. "Constitution of the Slovak Republic". Article 86, Constitution of 1992 (PDF). National Council of the Slovak Republic. p. 33.
  5. "Constitution of the Slovak Republic". Article 134, Constitution of 1992 (PDF). National Council of the Slovak Republic. p. 52.
  6. "Postavenie a právomoci" [Status and powers] (in Slovak). National Council of the Slovak Republic. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  7. "Constitution of the Slovak Republic". Article 84, Constitution of 1992 (PDF). National Council of the Slovak Republic. p. 32.
  8. Svítok, Michal (20 March 2020). "Kollára zvolili za predsedu parlamentu. Väčšina výborov pozná svojich šéfov". Pravda.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  9. Kulish, Nicholas (7 October 2011). "Slovakia May Hold Key to Euro Debt Bailout". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 15 December 2017.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.