National holiday: Slovak Constitution Day, 1 September (1992);
Anniversary of Slovak National Uprising, 29 August (1944)
Constitution: ratified 1 September 1992, fully effective 1
January 1993
Legal system: civil law system based on Austro-Hungarian codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; legal code modified to comply with the obligations of Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and to expunge Marxist-Leninist legal theory
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President (vacant); note—President NOVAC retired at
the end of his term; the government has announced its intention to
hold direct presidential election in early 1999; in the meantime the
prime minister takes over the president's duties
head of government: Prime Minister Mikulas DZURINDA (since 30
October 1998)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of
the prime minister
elections: president elected by National Council secret ballot that
must yield a three-fifths majority for a five-year term; election
last held NA March 1998 but no candidate was able to win a
three-fifths majority required by law (next to be held NA 1999);
following National Council elections, the leader of the majority
party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed
prime minister by the president
election results: presidency vacant
Legislative branch: unicameral National Council of the Slovak
Republic or Narodna Rada Slovensky Repubiky (150 seats; members are
elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 25-26 September 1998 (next to be held NA
September 2003)
election results: percent of vote by party—HZDS 27%, SDK 16.3%, SDL
14.7%, SMK 9.1%, SNS 9.1%, SOP 8%; seats by party—governing
coalition 93 (SDK 42, SDL 23, SMK 15, SOP 13), opposition 57 (HZDS
43, SNS 14)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are elected by the
National Council; Constitutional Court
Political parties and leaders: Movement for a Democratic Slovakia
Hungarian Coalition or SMK (includes MKDH, MOS, and Coexistence)
LUPTAK, chairman]; Social Democratic Party of Slovakia or SSDS
chairman]
Political pressure groups and leaders: Party of Entrepreneurs and
Businessmen of Slovakia; Christian Social Union; Confederation of
Trade Unions or KOZ; Metal Workers Unions or KOVO and METALURG;
Association of Employers of Slovakia; Association of Towns and
Villages or ZMOS
International organization participation: Australia Group, BIS,
BSEC (observer), CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU
(applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS,
ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol,
IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUA, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTrO, ZC