At stake in this Referendum:

• A referendum to overturn the new family code passed by the then-governing center-left coalition in 2011.

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Danilo TURK
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Janez JANSA
• Assembly: Slovenia has a bicameral Parliament consisting of the National Council (Drzavni Svet) with 40 seats* and the National Assembly (Drzavni Zbor) with 90 seats**.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by majority vote through a two-round system to serve a 5-year term.
• The Prime Minister is elected by parliament.
• In the National Council (Drzavni Svet) 40 members are indirectly elected by an electoral college to serve 5-year terms*. In the National Assembly (Drzavni Zbor), 88 members are elected through an open-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms and 2 members are elected through a Borda Count system to serve 4-year terms.**

* This is a mainly advisory body based on corporatist principles with limited legislative powers. It may propose laws, ask to review any National Assembly decisions, and call national referenda. 4 members represent business ownership associations, 4 represent trade unions, 2 represent farmers, 1 represents crafts and trades, 1 represents "independent professions," and 6 represent "non-commercial" interests. These include 1 representative each from the following fields: university students, teaching, professional research, culture/sport, health care, and social work. Finally, electoral colleges in each of 22 local constituencies elect members representing their respective constituencies. These electoral colleges include 1 member per municipality and 1 more member per additional 5,000 residents. Choice of electoral rules is reserved to the electoral colleges.

** In the PR tier, there are 8 multi-member constituencies of 11 seats each. Voters have the option to cast preference votes. There is a nationwide threshold of 4 percent. In addition, the two constituencies in which the Borda system is used are nationwide and reserved to Hungarian and Italian minorities, respectively.

Main provisions in the Referendum:

• A provision to overturn the recently-passed new family code. Among other things, the new code expanded benefits to same-sex couple on matters related to adoption and civil partnerships.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 2,057,159 (2012)
• Registered Voters: 1,709,417 (March 2012)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 1,036,502 (2012)

·         Is Slovenia a signatory to CEDAW: No

·         Has Slovenia ratified CEDAW: Yes, succession (6 July 1992)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 29 (following the 2011 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 25 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Very Low (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Slovenia a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Slovenia ratified CRPD: Yes (24 April 2008)

·         Population with a disability: 308,573 (est.)