Observers say that the official results from the regional elections reflect to a large degree the current level of sympathies for Slovakia’s political parties at the state level. According to political scientist Juraj Marušiak, the regional results confirm certain stability in the distribution of political forces in Slovakia, newswire TASR wrote.
Based on the official results in the first round of regional elections on November 14 the distribution of seats by coalition and political party in the regional parliaments of Slovakia’s eight Self-Governing Regions (VÚCs) is a follows, according to the Slovak Statistics Office and news wire SITA.
At the 44-seat Bratislava regional parliament the coalition consisting of the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ), the Civil Conservative Party (OKS), and the Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK) will have 26 seats or 59.09 percent. The coalition featuring the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS), Smer, and the Movement for Democracy (HZD) will hold 14 seats or 31.81 percent. The Freedom and Solidarity party, Civic Candidates, the Most-Híd party and one independent candidate will each have one seat.
In the 57-seat Žilina regional parliament, the coalition of HZDS and Smer will hold 21 seats, 36.84 percent; the coalition of the KDH, OKS and SDKÚ will hold 18 seats, 31.58 percent and the Slovak National Party (SNS) will hold 6 seats. The HZD, Free Forum (SF) and SZS will each hold one seat and independent candidates will have 11 seats.
The 49-seat Banská Bystrica regional parliament has an absolute majority of the HZDS and Smer coalition with 27 seats, 55.10 percent; the SMK will hold 7 seats, 14.28 percent, the coalition of KDH and SDKÚ will have 6 seats, and the coalition of HZD and SNS will have 3 seats. The coalition of Most-Híd and the Green Party will have 1 seat and independent candidates won 5 seats, forming the remaining 30.06 percent.
The 40-seat Trnava regional parliament will feature the coalition of KDH and SDKÚ with 11 seats, 27.50 percent, followed by the SMK with 11 seats, 27.50 percent. The coalition of HZD, HZDS, SNS and Smer will hold 10 seats; Most-Híd will have 1 seat while independent candidates will hold 6 seats. The New Democracy party will have one seat.
The 45-seat Trenčín parliament will be dominated by the HZDS and Smer coalition, which will hold 27 seats, 60 percent; the KDH and SDKÚ coalition won 8 seats; and independent candidates will occupy 10 seats.
The 54-seat Nitra regional parliament will be governed by the so-called wide Slovak coalition made up of KDH, SDKÚ, HZDS and Smer and the coalition captured 38 seats, 70.37 percent; SMK will have 13 seats, 24.07 percent and independent candidates won 3 seats.
The 62-seat Prešov parliament will include a coalition formed by the HZDS and Smer which won 26 seats, 41.93 percent and the coalition of KDH and SDKÚ, which took 25 seats, 40.32 percent. The coalition of League, civil-liberal party, New Democracy, Free Forum and the Green Party will hold 2 seats; the Party of Roma Coalition will hold 1 seat; USVIT will have one seat while independent candidates won 6 seats.
The 57-seat Košice regional parliament will be dominated by Smer which won 30 seats, 45.61 percent. Independent candidates will have 13 seats, 22.80 percent while the coalition of the Democratic Party, KDS, OKS and SDKÚ will hold 8 seats. HZDS and SZS will have 4 seats while the coalition of HZD, SF and the Party of Civil Solidarity will have 2 seats.
The VÚCs, with a collective budget of more than €1.1 billion in 2010, have decision-making powers in education and social services as well as in public transport and in maintaining 2nd- and 3rd-category roads, but they also coordinate inter-regional and cross-border cooperation and tourism. The VÚCs are funded by taxes paid directly to the regions, including personal income and motor vehicle taxes. They also receive grants from central government ministries and from European structural funds.
