Zidanšek was backed by 74 of the 129 delegates with a voting right at Saturday's electoral congress in Podčetrtek (est) after a last-minute twist that saw him substitute for one of original two candidates.

His challenger Damjan Medved, who refused to withdraw along with Primož Jelševar in order for the party to demonstrate unity by agreeing on a single candidate, won 59 votes.

Zidanšek had been considered a frontrunner for the top job, but withdrew from bidding at a session of the party's executive committee a week ago, having failed to muster uniform support.

He was talked into a change of heart at today's congress after the rules of procedure were changed to allow for the fielding of new candidates.

The new leader announced that he would aspire to return the party to the path of success after it dropped out of parliament in the July snap general election, the reason for Bogovič's resignation.

An SLS member since 1990, Zidanšek is a member of the party's executive committee and is serving his fifth term as Celje city councillor after serving three terms as deputy mayor; he is currently the mayor's aide.