Exactly a month to go before the local polls in Slovenia, campaigning gets officially under way on Friday with the biggest uncertainty surrounding contenders of the winner of the 13 July general election, the Party of Miro Cerar (SMC).
Voters in 212 Slovenian municipalities will elect mayors, councillors and other representatives of local government on 5 October with the potential mayoral run-off planned for 19 October.
The deadline for the registration of candidates is 10 September. The authorities will need to verify the bids by 16 September and the lists of contenders will be released publicly on 19 September.
Incumbents are likely to dominate mayoral elections again with re-election bids announced by the current mayors in all four major cities, including Zoran Janković in Ljubljana.
Running on an independent ticket following the fiasco of his Positive Slovenia (PS) party in the general election, Janković will face off several challengers in his attempt to win a third four-year term.
After winning two in a landslide plus a by-election following his ill-fated foray into national politics, Janković is likely in for a tougher job this time, also because of criminal proceedings running against him.
Janković's chances of success will also depend the Party of Miro Cerar (SMC), foremost on the candidate it fields for the mayor and whether it manages to repeat its good showing at the national level.
Also important will be the strategy of the right-leaning bloc, which is yet to disclose its top contenders for the capital, and the possibility that any of the parties endorse independent Damjan Damjanovič.
Although a member of the Democratic Party (SDS), the director of the Slovenian Philharmonics, who has earned media popularity as a judge of Slovenia's Got Talent and X Factor shows, will stand as an independent and has already managed to collect 2,120 signatures in support of his bid.
The SocDems (SD) have fielded Irena Kuntarič Hribar, head of the Education Ministry's department for life-long learning and scholarships, also a daughter of former CEO of the state-run SOD fund Tomaž Kuntarič.
The Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) will bid with another lesser known candidate Marija Horvat, who will join a couple of other minor contenders.
In Maribor, Slovenia's second city, mayoral bids have so far been announced by incumbent Andrej Fištravec, who as an independent still needs to collect sufficient signatures from voters, former deputy mayor Tomaž Kancler of the Democrats (SDS) and Bernard Memon for New Slovenia (NSi).
Bojan Šrot, a member of the People's Party (SLS), will stand for his his fifth term as the mayor of Celje, Slovenia's third city. He will be up against challengers from the SDS and SD.
After three terms in office, incumbent Boris Popovič will also be standing for re-election in the port city of Koper, with support of his own party. As things stand now, he need not fear any strong competition.
Running until midnight on 3 October, when the election blackout sets in, the election campaign will be subject to new legislation banning campaign donations from legal entities and stiffening oversight.
All campaign costs will have to be covered from an account opened by each campaign organiser especially for the purpose. The costs are limited as per the number of eligible voters.
Source: TheSloveniaTimes
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