At stake in this election:

• The office of President of Slovakia

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Ivan GASPAROVIC
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Robert FICO
• Assembly: Slovakia has a unicameral National Council of the Slovak Republic (Narodna Rada Slovenskej Republiky) 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.
• The Prime Minister is appointed by the president with the approval of the parliament.
• In the National Council of the Slovak Republic (Narodna Rada Slovenskej Republiky) 150 members are elected through a flexible-list proportional representation system.

Main Candidates in the Second Round of the Presidential race:

• Ivan GAŠPAROVIC
  • Alliance: Direction - Social Democracy, and Slovak National Party / Smer – sociálna demokracia, Slovenská národná (Smer-SNS)
• Iveta RADIČOVÁ
  • Party: Slovak Democratic and Christian Union - Democratic Party / Slovenská demokratická a kresťanská unia (SDKU-DS)

Main Candidates in the First Round of the Presidential race:

• Ivan GAŠPAROVIC*
  • Alliance: Direction - Social Democracy, and Slovak National Party / Smer – sociálna demokracia, Slovenská národná (Smer-SNS)
• Iveta RADIČOVÁ**
  • Party: Slovak Democratic and Christian Union - Democratic Party / Slovenská demokratická a kresťanská únia (SDKU-DS)
• František MIKLOŠKO
  • Party: Conservative Democrats of Slovakia / Konzervatívni demokrati Slovenska (KDS)
• Zuzana MARTINÁKOVÁ
  • Party: Free Forum / Slobodné fórum
• Milan MELNIK*****
  • Independent(s): N/A
• Milan SIDOR******
  • Independent(s): N/A
• Dagmar BALLOVA
  • Independent(s): N/A

* Ivan GASPAROVIC is the incumbent president, representing an alliance of parties in the 2009 election.
** Iveta RADICOVA is also supported by the Party of the Hungarian Coalition (SMK), Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), and the Civic Conservative Party (OKS).
***** Though running as an independent, Milan MELNIK is supported by the party Movement for Democratic Slovakia (HZDS).
****** Though running as an independent candidate, Milan SIDOR is supported by the Communist Party of Slovakia (KSS).

Last Presidential election:

• The incumbent candidate Ivan GASPAROVIC won the last presidential election on April 3, 2004.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 5,386,406 (2009)
• Registered Voters: 4,339,257 (March 2009)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 2,775,099 (2009)

·         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 2006 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: 807,960 (est.)