National Council of Slovakia

Not to be confused with Slovak National Council.

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 largest remainder method with Hagenbach-Bischoff quota every four years.^[2]

National Council of the Slovak Republic Národná rada Slovenskej republiky
Type
Type	Unicameral
History
Founded	1 January 1993, 31 years ago
Preceded by	• Slovak National Council • Federal Assembly
Leadership
Speaker	Peter Žiga, Hlas since 7 April 2024 (acting)[1]
Deputy speakers	Andrej Danko, SNS since 25 October 2023
	Tibor Gašpar, Smer since 27 June 2024
	Peter Žiga, Hlas since 25 October 2023
Structure
Seats	150
Political groups	Government (79)   Smer (41)   Hlas (27)   SNS (8)[a]   Non-attached (3)[b] Opposition (71)   PS (33)   S–KÚ–ZĽ (14)[c]   KDH (11)   SaS (11)[d]   Non-attached (2)[e]
Committees	19 Committees
Elections
Voting system	Open list proportional representation with a 5% electoral threshold (7% for two-, three-party alliances; 10% for four-or-more party alliance) allocated under the largest remainder method with Hagenbach-Bischoff quota[2]
Last election	30 September 2023
Next election	2027
Meeting place
Parliament Building, Bratislava
Website
www.nrsr.sk

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.^[3]

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.^[4] It considers and approves the constitution, constitutional amendments, and other legislation.^[5] It approves the state budget.^[5] It elects some officials specified by law, as well as justices of the Constitutional Court and the prosecutor general.^[6][7] Prior to their ratification, the parliament also should approve all important international treaties.^[5] 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.^[5]

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.^[8]

Committees of the National Council

Standing committees and current leadership are listed below.

Committee	President	Group
Mandate and Immunity Committee (Slovak: Mandátový a imunitný výbor)	Marián Saloň		Smer-SD
Function Incompatibility Committee (Slovak: Výbor pre nezlučiteľnosť funkcií)	Veronika Remišová		OĽaNO
Committee for European Affairs (Slovak: Výbor pre európske záležitosti)	Ján Ferenčák		Smer-SD
Constitutional Committee (Slovak: Ústavnoprávny výbor)	Miroslav Čellár		Smer-SD
Committee for Finance and Budget (Slovak: Výbor pre financie a rozpočet)	Ján Blcháč		Hlas-SD
Committee for Economic Affairs (Slovak: Výbor pre ekonomické záležitosti)	Róbert Puci		Hlas-SD
Committee for Agriculture and the Environment (Slovak: Výbor pre pôdohospodárstvo a životné prostredie)	Rudolf Huliak		National Coalition
Committee for Public Administration and Regional Development (Slovak: Výbor pre verejnú správu a regionálny rozvoj)	Michal Šipoš		OĽaNO
Committee for Social Affairs (Slovak: Výbor pre sociálne veci)	Ján Richter		Smer-SD
Committee for Health (Slovak: Výbor pre zdravotníctvo)	Vladimir Baláž		Smer-SD
Committee for Defence and Security (Slovak: Výbor pre obranu a bezpečnosť)	Richard Glück		Smer-SD
Foreign Committee (Slovak: Zahraničný výbor)	Marián Kéry		Smer-SD
Committee for Education, Science, Youth and Sport (Slovak: Výbor pre vzdelávanie, vedu, mládež a šport)	Jozef Habánik		Smer-SD
Committee for Culture and Media (Slovak: Výbor pre kultúru a médiá)	Roman Michelko		SNS
Committee for Human Rights and National Minorities (Slovak: Výbor pre ľudské práva a národnostné menšiny)	Lucia Plaváková		PS
Special Control Committee to Control the Activities of the NBU (Slovak: Osobitný kontrolný výbor pre kontrolu čiinosti NBÚ)	Roman Mikulec		OĽaNO
Special Control Committee to Control the Activities of the SIS (Slovak: Osobitný kontrolný výbor pre kontrolu čiinosti SIS)	Samuel Migaľ		Hlas-SD
Special Control Committee to Control the Activities of the Military Intelligence (Slovak: Osobitný kontrolný výbor pre kontrolu činnosti Vojenského Spravodajstva)	Tomáš Valášek		PS
Committee for Review of Decisions of the NBU (Slovak: Výbor na preskúmavanie rozhodnutí NBÚ)	Irena Bihariová		PS

Speakers

Main article: List of speakers of Slovak parliaments

The National Council of the Slovak Republic currently has no speaker. The last speaker, Peter Pellegrini, lost his mandate upon being elected to the presidency on April 7, 2024. Since then Deputy Speaker Peter Žiga has been acting speaker.

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
KSS	DS	VPN	SZ	KDH	Együttélés–MKDM	SNS

Slovak Parliament 1992–1994

29	18	74	14	15
SDĽ	KDH	HZDS	Együttélés–MKDM	SNS

Slovak Parliament 1994–1998

18	13	15	17	61	17	9
Common Choice	ZRS	DEÚS	KDH	HZDS–RSS	Hungarian Coalition	SNS

Slovak Parliament 1998–2002

23	13	42	43	15	14
SDĽ	SOP	SDK	ĽS–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	SDKÚ–DS	KDH	ĽS–HZDS	SMK–MKP	SNS

Slovak Parliament 2010–2012

62	14	28	15	22	9
Smer	Most–Híd	SDKÚ–DS	KDH	SaS	SNS

Slovak Parliament 2012–2016

83	13	11	16	16	11
Smer	Most–Híd	SDKÚ–DS	KDH	OĽaNO	SaS

Slovak Parliament 2016–2020

49	10	11	19	21	11	15	14
Smer	Network	Most–Híd	OĽaNO–NOVA	SaS	We Are Family	SNS	ĽSNS

Slovak Parliament 2020–2023

38	12	53	13	17	17
Smer	For the People	OĽaNO–NOVA–KÚ–ZZ	SaS	We Are Family	ĽSNS

Slovak Parliament 2023–2027

42	27	32	16	11	12	10
Smer	Hlas	PS	OĽaNO	SaS	KDH	SNS

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 2023.

Latest election

2023 Slovak Parliamentary Election

Members (1990–present)

• List of members of the National Council of Slovakia, 1990–92
• List of members of the National Council of Slovakia, 1992–94
• List of members of the National Council of Slovakia, 1994–98
• List of members of the National Council of Slovakia, 1998–2002
• List of members of the National Council of Slovakia, 2002–06
• List of members of the National Council of Slovakia, 2006–10
• List of members of the National Council of Slovakia, 2010–12
• List of members of the National Council of Slovakia, 2012–2016
• List of members of the National Council of Slovakia, 2016–2020
• List of members of the National Council of Slovakia, 2020–2023
• List of members of the National Council of Slovakia, 2023–2027

Buildings

National Council of the Slovak Republic Building

Bust of Jozef Miloslav Hurban, founder of the First Slovak National Council (1848) in the National Council of the Slovak Republic

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 its construction started in 1986 during the Czechoslovak period as a building for the Federal Parliament, which usually met in Prague.^[9] The secondary parliament building, the Zhupa house, which was the main building until 1994, is situated at Župné square next to the Trinitarian Church below the castle hill in Bratislava.

Notes

1. •   SNS (4)
   •   Independents (3)
   •   Smer (1)
2. Support (3)

   •   National Coalition (3)
3. •   Slovakia (10)
   •   KÚ (2)
   •   ZĽ (1)
   •   NOVA (1)
4. •   Freedom and Solidarity (10)
   •   Civic Conservatives (1)
5. •   Democrats (1)
   •   Independent (1)

References

1. Katuška, Michal (8 April 2024). "Pellegrini sa už nepovažuje za poslanca. Po zvolení konal inak ako Schuster". SME Domov (in Slovak). PETIT PRESS, a. s. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
2. 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] (180/2014, Article 68). National Council of the Slovak Republic. 29 May 2014.
3. "Postavenie a právomoci". NR SR (in Slovak). Retrieved 20 May 2020.
4. Constitution of the Slovak Republic (PDF) (Constitution, Article 72). National Council of the Slovak Republic. 1992. p. 29.
5. Constitution of the Slovak Republic (PDF) (Constitution, Article 86). National Council of the Slovak Republic. 1992. p. 33.
6. Constitution of the Slovak Republic (PDF) (Constitution, Article 134). National Council of the Slovak Republic. 1992. p. 52.
7. "Postavenie a právomoci" [Status and powers] (in Slovak). National Council of the Slovak Republic. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
8. Constitution of the Slovak Republic (PDF) (Constitution, Article 84). National Council of the Slovak Republic. 1992. p. 32.
9. Kulish, Nicholas (7 October 2011). "Slovakia May Hold Key to Euro Debt Bailout". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 December 2017.

External links

• Official website (in Slovak and English)

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