At stake in this election:

• The office of President of the Slovak Republic

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Ivan GAŠPAROVIĆ
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Robert FICO
• Assembly: Slovakia has a unicameral National Council (Národná rada) with 150 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by absolute majority vote through a two-round system to serve a 5-year term. Candidates for the office of the president must be nominated by at least 15 members of the National Council (Národná rada) or through a petition of at least 15,000 voters. Presidents of the Slovak Republic are limited to two 5-year terms in office.

Election Notes:

• The last presidential election was held over two rounds on March 21 and April 4, 2009. Ivan GAŠPAROVIĆ was re-elected in the second round of voting, winning 55.53 percent of the vote over Iveta RADIČOVÁ. GAŠPAROVIĆ is unable to contest the 2014 presidential election due to term limits. Current Prime Minister Robert FICO has been nominated as the candidates for the ruling Direction – Social Democracy Party / Smer – sociálna demokracia. Should FICO win the presidential election, Smer would have to replace FICO as Prime Minister and party leader. Should no candidate attain a simple majority of the vote on March 16, a run-off election between the two highest vote getters will be held on March 29, 2014.

Main Candidates in the Presidential race:

• Gyula BÁRDOS
  • Party of the Hungarian Coalition / Strana maďarskej koalície – Magyar Koalíció Pártja (SMK-MKP)
• Jozef BEHÝL
  • Independent
• Ján ČARNOGURSKÝ
  • Independent
• Robert FICO
  • Direction – Social Democracy / Smer – sociálna demokracia (Smer-SD)
• Viliam FISCHER
  • Independent
• Pavol HRUŠOVSKÝ
  • Christian Democratic Movement / Kresťanskodemokratické hnutie (KDH), Bridge / Most–Híd
• Ján JURIŠTA
  • Communist Party of Slovakia / Komunistická strana Slovenska (KSS)
• Andrej KISKA
  • Independent
• Milan KŇAŽKO
  • Independent
• Stanislav MARTINČKO
  • Coalition of Citizens of Slovakia / Koalícia občanov Slovenska (KOS)
• Milan MELNÍK
  • Independent
• Helena MEZENSKÁ
  • Ordinary People and Independent Personalities / Obyčajní Ľudia a nezávislé osobnosti (OaĽNO)
• Radoslav PROCHÁZKA
  • Independent
• Jozef ŠIMKO
  • Modern Party of Slovakia / Stranou moderného Slovenska (SMS)

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 5,418,649 (2012)
• Registered Voters: 4,392,451 (2012)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 2,792,132 (2014)

·         Is Slovakia a signatory to CEDAW: No

·         Has Slovakia ratified CEDAW: Yes, succession (28 May 1993)

·         Gender Quota: No (there are political parties that have voluntary gender quotas)

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 24 (following the 2012 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 35 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A

Disability Data:

·         Is Slovakia a signatory to CRPD: Yes (26 September 2007)

·         Has Slovakia ratified CRPD: Yes (26 May 2010)

·         Population with a disability: 812,797 (est.)