The Slovenia Times

President Pahor Hosting Meeting on Electoral Reform, How to Tackle Corruption

Nekategorizirano

7


The proposed agreement on combating the crisis proposes that the parliamentary parties agree to support the implementation of the Stability Programme and the National Reform Programme 2012-2016, government documents that have been endorsed by the European Commission.

The priorities on which the president proposes a consensus be reached include bank restructuring, the introduction of a centralized system for the management of state capital assets, acceleration of privatization, healthcare and higher education reform, and adoption of the act implementing the fiscal rule.

Pahor moreover hopes the parties will simultaneously commit to striving for an improved legal culture and rule of law, which is one of the basic pillars of democratic society and of the state.

On electoral reform Pahor proposes changes implementing Article 80 of the Constitution that states voters should have the decisive influence in the allocation of mandates, a compromise based on at least four proposed changes to electoral law currently in parliament.

He proposes the introduction of a preferential vote combined with voters voting on an party list at the level of one of eight election units. Electoral districts, currently a key component of the system, would be preserved only in the administrative sense and would no longer affect the outcome.

Moreover, he proposes raising the threshold for parliament entry to 5% from 4%, which is unlikely to be accepted by some of the smaller parties, such as New Slovenia (NSi), the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) and the Citizens' List (DL), which have been apprehensive about any such changes.

Comments by party heads ahead of the meting are inconclusive, but it is clear that the rightist parties, in particular the Democrats (SDS), are in favour of a majoritarian system, whereas the leftist groups favour tweaking the existing proportional representation system.

Also, parties have expressed different views on what the meeting should focus on, with the opposition in particular noting the need to discuss crisis measures.

The Democrats (SDS) for instance proposed to Pahor a debate on whether it makes sense to take out expensive loans on financial markets instead of seeking European Stability Mechanism aid to fix the banks.

Share:

More from Nekategorizirano