At stake in this Referendum:

• Whether to reduce the 150-member Chamber of Deputies to 100 members, implement Internet voting, eliminate fees for state TV and radio, and other provisions to boost transparency and reduce fiscal burdens.

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Ivan GASPAROVIC *
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Iveta RADICOVA **
• Assembly: Slovakia has a unicameral National Council of the Slovak Republic (Narodna Rada Slovenskej Republiky) with 150 seats. ***

* Candidates for the presidency must be nominated by at least 15 members of parliament or through a petition of at least 15,000 voters.

** with the approval of the parliament.

*** Electors are given a separate ballot for each party, which they take into the voting booth. Each party ranks its candidates from one to the total number of candidates it is running. Electors cast one vote for their preferred party. In addition, they may cast up to four preferential votes on the ballot. Electors then place the ballot of their preferred party into an envelope, discarding the other ballots into a separate bin. Seat order is determined by the predetermined order of candidates on the party lists, updated by the count of preferential votes cast. There is a 5% threshold which every party must obtain, even if part of a larger coalition.

Main provisions in the Referendum:

• To abolish the television license.
• To limit Parliamentary immunity.
• To lower the number of MPs from 150 to 100 by 2014.
• To set a maximum price for limousines used by the government at €40,000.
• To introduce electronic voting via the internet.
• To change the Press Code by removing politicians' automatic right of reply.

Electoral Requirements

• A majority of registered voters must vote "yes."

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 5,391,428 (2010)
• Registered Voters: 4,369,553 (September 2010)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 2,777,745 (2010)

·         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: 23 (following the 2010 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: 808,714 (est.)