STA, 14 April 2018 – Bids have been announced by the centre-left coalition parties, the Modern Centre Party (SMC), the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) and the Social Democrats (SD).
Opposition parties, the rightist Democrats (SDS) and New Slovenia (NSi), and the Left and the party of former PM Alenka Bratušek, are also counting on enough support to cross the 4% parliamentary threshold.
While most of them are likely to return to parliament, public opinion polls indicate that a newcomer in national politics, the party of Kamnik Mayor Marjan Šarec, could beat them all.
Several MPs who left their respective parties during the term will try to win back their seats as well.
Former SMC member Bojan Dobovšek will vie for another term with the Good State and former Social Democrat Janko Veber with Unity. Former SDS MP Andrej Čuš took over the Greens and formed what he calls a "third bloc" with several smaller parties.
Meanwhile, the People's Party (SLS), once a parliamentary mainstay, and the Liberal Democrats (LDS), the dominant party of the 1990s, will try to make a return to the National Assembly after being left outside in the last and the last two elections, respectively.
The non-parliamentary United Left - Democratic Labour Party (ZL-DSD), an offshoot of the 2014 United Left alliance for the 2014 election, will also try to make it to parliament.
The New People's Party (NLS) of former Maribor Major Franc Kangler and the Voice for Children and Families of Aleš Primc, who rose to prominence as anti-gay adoptions campaigner in a 2015 referendum, struck an alliance named Kangler&Primc - United Right to pose as a counterweight to similar alliances on the left.
Several other groups formed into parties for the election, including the Taxpayers Standing Our Ground party of Vili Kovačič, whose dogged opposition to the government-sponsored bill on the Koper-Divača rail expansion led to the resignation of PM Miro Cerar just months before the regular election.
The pro-vegan, anti-vaccination party For a Healthy Society and Forward Together, the movement which has been calling for resignation of the health minister, also announced their bids, as did the list of media owner Bojan Požar.
Solidarity, United Slovenia Movement, the Social Party of Serbs in Slovenia and the List for Justice and Development will also vie for voter support, and others are sure to join the race too.
This year's figure compares to 17 parties who competed the 2014 election, with seven making it into parliament; no parliament has had more than eight parties.
Other articles in this series can be found here.
