IFES Election Guide | Elections: Slovakia Referendum 2026

July 4, 2026 Confirmed

Slovak Republic

Referendum

General Information

At Stake in this Election:

On 23 March, the President of the Republic declared a referendum would be held on 4 July 2026 on whether to cancel lifelong payments for former prime ministers and speakers of Parliament who served at least two terms and whether to restore the Special Prosecutor’s Office, which was closed in 2024.

Slovak (original):

1. Súhlasíte so zrušením tzv. doživotnej renty, napríklad, pre Roberta Fica, ustanovenej v § 24a ods. 1 písm. b) zákona č. 120/1993 Z. z. o platových pomeroch niektorých ústavných činiteľov Slovenskej republiky v aktuálnom znení?

2. Súhlasíte s tým, aby boli obnovené Úrad špeciálnej prokuratúry a Národná kriminálna agentúra?

English (informal translation)

1. Do you agree with the abolition of the so-called lifetime annuity, for example, for Robert Fico, stipulated in Section 24a, paragraph 1, letter b) of Act No. 120/1993 Coll. on the salary conditions of certain constitutional officials of the Slovak Republic, as amended?

2. Do you agree that the Special Prosecutor's Office and the National Criminal Agency should be restored?

Government Structure:

Chief of State: President Peter PELLEGRINI (since 15 June 2024)

Head of Government: Robert FICO (since 25 October 2023)

Assembly: unicameral National Council (Narodna Rada) with 150 seats

Electoral System:

The President is directly elected by an absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if necessary. The President serves a 5-year term.

The Prime Minister is appointed by the President. Generally, it is the leader of the majority party/coalition.

Members of the National Council are directly elected in single and multi-seat constituencies. They serve four-year terms.

Last Election:

The last election in Slovakia was held in January 2021 on whether the rules for early termination of the election period of the National Council should be amended to make it simpler to call snap elections. Turnout was only 27%, making the result invalid.

Information for Voters:

Referendum Information available from the Ministry of Internal Affairs

New/Unique in this Election:

This referendum was requested via a petition signed by the constitutionally mandated minimum of 350,000 citizens. If this referendum meets the mandated 50% turnout, it would be the first referendum to do so since the 2003 referendum to join the European Union.