Resident foreigners can vote in forthcoming municipal and regional elections

See who is running for posts in municipal and regional bodies in Bratislava and Bratislava Region.

Regional election 2017Regional election 2017 (Source: TASR)

Slovaks and foreigners permanently resident in Slovakia will all be able to vote for the mayors and councillors of their municipalities as well as the regional head and the members of their regional assembly on Saturday, October 29. It is the first occasion that elections to these two levels of government will take place on the same day. Polling stations will open at 7.00 and close at 20.00.

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Unlike parliamentary and presidential elections, for which Slovak citizenship is a requirement, participation in municipal and regional elections is open to anyone registered as being permanently resident in Slovakia who is older than 18 years, including foreigners from any state. During the elections, a voter can select only one candidate for the post of mayor and one candidate for the post of regional governor (also sometimes referred to as regional president or, informally in Slovak, as the župan). When voting for members of their municipal and regional councils, voters should be aware of the number of council seats available.

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Voters in Bratislava and Košice get six ballots

Voters in Bratislava and Košice get to choose the mayor of the whole city and of the borough in which they live, plus councillors in both jurisdictions. As a result, they will receive six ballots: four for the municipal elections and two for regional elections. The ballots for the municipal elections will include one ballot for the mayor of the whole city, one for councillors of the city council, one for the mayor of the borough, and one for councillors of the borough council (also called the local municipality). In the regional elections, one ballot is for the post of regional governor and the other to elect members of the regional assembly (also known as the regional parliament).

The deadline for candidate applications has passed

Candidates were able to register to run in the municipal and regional elections until August 30. The proposed candidacies must be now acknowledged by the respective election commissions. Only then will the names of individual candidates be officially published. The deadline for this is October 4.

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In the meantime, several candidates have revealed that they intend to run for election, and some municipalities have already published candidate information.

Vallo will face eight challengers in Bratislava

In the capital, a total of eight men and one woman are vying to become the city's next mayor, including the incumbent, Matúš Vallo. Among his declared challengers are Rudolf Kusý, the current mayor of the borough of Nové Mesto, as well as Martin Mlýnek, Miroslav Heredoš and Martin Jakubec.

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