Local and regional elections are being held in Slovakia, where citizens elect mayors, municipal and city councilors, chairmen of self-governing regions and members of regional parliaments. Polling stations opened at 7:00 a.m. and will remain open until 8:00 p.m.
The vote is being held simultaneously at the local and regional levels for the second time. The country's first combined elections took place in 2022. In Bratislava and Košice, voters also vote for heads and councilors of individual urban districts.
Over 6,000 polling stations
Election day covers 2,923 municipalities, cities and urban districts, as well as Slovakia's eight self-governing regions. The election authorities will process protocols from over 6,000 polling stations, with the total number of documents to be entered into the electronic system exceeding 19,000.
Slovak citizens and foreigners with a permanent address in the respective municipality or region who have reached the age of 18 at the latest on election day have the right to vote. This allows citizens of other countries who permanently reside in Slovakia to participate in the vote for local and regional authorities.
Election silence until the end of the vote
The election campaign ended on October 21 at 23:59. An election moratorium is in effect until the polling stations close, prohibiting campaigning and the publication of results from sociological surveys and election polls.
The Speaker of the Slovak Parliament, Richard Rasi, called on citizens to participate in the elections and evaluate candidates not only on their promises, but also on their work to date. “Strong words and empty gestures will not move our cities, villages or Slovakia forward. Expertise, professionalism and honest work are needed“, Rasi said, quoted by TASR.
After the end of voting, the election commissions will begin the count, and the results will be summarized by the Statistical Office of Slovakia. Official data is expected to be published in stages during election night.
Sources: tasr.sk, spravy.stvr.sk