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THE CALLING OF A GENERAL ELECTION TO THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 1996
Statement by the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Milan Kucan, at the press conference
Ljubljana, 5 September 1996
Ladies and gentlemen, as you are aware, a few days ago I concluded the second round of consultations with the leaders of political parties that are represented by deputies with seats in the National Assembly.
Following these consultations I resolved to call an election, as I am charged to do by the Constitution and the law. I have just signed the Decree on the Calling of a General Election to the National Assembly. This decree determines that the general election of deputies to the National Assembly will be held on Sunday, 10 November 1996. The official date of the calling of the general election, from which day the period specified in the law for election campaigns will start to run, has been set as 11 September 1996. The Decree on the Calling of a General Election will be published in the Official Gazette, in accordance with the law, tomorrow, 6 September 1996.
In deciding to call the election to the National Assembly for 10 November, I have been guided chiefly by four factors.
- Firstly, the election of new deputies to the National Assembly must facilitate the earliest possible constituting of the National Assembly and formation of the new government. The current circumstances, and the successful continuation of efforts to fulfil the goals set for the Slovene state following the plebiscite and confirmed through our independence and international recognition, demand that the newly elected National Assembly and new government, following a critical appraisal of the work to date of the National Assembly in its present composition and the work of the present government, should continue without delay to adopt those decisions that are necessary firstly for the promotion of Slovenia's economic development, secondly to resolve burning social issues and to provide social security for our citizens, and thirdly for our successful incorporation, endorsed by our citizens, into the processes of Euro-Atlantic integration and for the securing of good relations with our neighbours.
- Secondly, the day set in November for the election is appropriate from the aspect of the general interests of the state. These interests demand that the drafting of certain urgent decisions - important for the life of our citizens, important too for the future of our country - be unencumbered at the earliest moment from any political tensions which are a natural feature of the pre-election period, electioneering and election campaign. The electing and constituting through a general election of the administrators of our country will enable those elected to assume at the earliest opportunity, within the remit of their authorisation, responsibility for administering the state. This point was more or less the unanimous, explicit assessment of the political party leaders, and in particular the view of the leader of the present government, who in view of his position in the system of executive power has the clearest picture of the extent and complexity of the tasks which it will be necessary in the future to address, and with which the new government will immediately be faced.
- Thirdly, the date set in November for the election will enable the political parties to perform, unimpeded and freely, all those activities determined in the Law on Elections to the National Assembly which they should rightfully perform in a democratic state based on the rule of law during the run-up to parliamentary elections and in the competition to secure the highest share of votes. This is a serious and important political reckoning, and has a decisive influence on the life and future of citizens in every democratic country.
- And fourthly, on the calling of elections - and perhaps this is the most important element of my decision - citizens must be acquainted with the rules by which they will vote and fulfil their constitutional right to vote for representation in the National Assembly. I would like to stress in particular that these rules are now known. They are embodied in the existing Law on Elections to the National Assembly, which was adopted on 10 September 1992. In the time given by the Constitution and the law for elections to be held, in other words by 8 December this year at the latest, it will not be possible to adopt new rules. And once elections have been called, it is not permissible to change the rules, this being one of the fundamental principles of a state based on the rule of law.
Despite the view that it might be useful or even necessary to call elections for the earliest possible date within the legally determined period, I did not call elections for the first possible dates, these being 27 October and 3 November, since I had to consider the contingency that at least theoretically it was still possible for there to be a change to the Law on Elections to the National Assembly. I did this too, because I am both obliged and inclined to respect the will of the proposers of referendums on elections, and in particular the will of 43,000 signatories of one of the referendum initiatives. For this reason I therefore decided to call elections and set the date only now, when there is no longer even the theoretical possibility that a referendum could be held on electoral legislation which might provide a basis for the majority will to be expressed in favour of changing the existing or adopting a new Law on Elections to the National Assembly that would govern the rules of this year's forthcoming elections.
The date has therefore been set for the election of deputies to the National Assembly. I have endeavoured to ensure that the calling of regular elections as such would be primarily a formal although important activity in the life of our citizens and the life of the country, just as it is in the traditional and stable parliamentary democracies. Sadly, given the circumstances that have arisen, the calling of elections is clearly also becoming a political activity. I expect nevertheless that in the interest of protecting the political rights of our citizens and in the interest of protecting the standing of our country there will be no actions that might represent an encumbrance to the decision of the Constitutional Court and might impede the holding of elections, or rather the free expression of political will by our citizens in the autumn election.
In setting the date of the election we have also set the time for the election campaign among the political parties to win votes. I invite therefore, with your help, all the citizens of the Republic of Slovenia to follow closely this reckoning of political parties, and according to judgements based on one's own position and on one's own interests, and according to one's judgement of the electoral promises and behaviour of the various parties, to take an active part in the events leading to the election. In this way our citizens will be able to decide for themselves to whom in the election they will accord their trust and grant their vote. In this general election they will decide on their and our common future for the next four years, and for this reason I believe our citizens will participate in this general election, as I believe they will participate in a referendum if one is called.
Thank you
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