The electoral system has an impact on the country’s party and political
sys- tem. The current system does not allow citizens of the Republic
of Slovenia to directly influence the composition of
the National Assembly; it does not en- courage within-party democracy; it does
not allow voters to punish potential poor performance of an individual member
of the parliament; and it limits the independence of the legislative branch of
power in relation to the execu- tive branch. In most cases, the current
electoral system has resulted in a frag- mented parliament, consequently to
weak governments with smaller reform potential. It reduces the behaviour of the coalition majority in the parliament
primarily to the role of the government’s voting machine. Awareness of the need
to replace the electoral system is broadly present among scholars, but less
supported by the political elite. New electoral law should be tailor-made to
respond to the main shortcomings of the electoral system in the Republic of
Slovenia. Otherwise, the change will fail to produce the desired results and
disappointment will ensue.
Key words: electoral system,
influence on the party system,
legitimacy, rule of law, electoral system reform.