Both minority MPs re-elected
Koper/Lendava, 25 April - The incumbent MPs for the Italian and Hungarian minorities, Felice Žiža and Ferenc Horváth, secured re-election on Sunday, both getting approximately 60% of the vote in their respective constituencies. They expect a constructive relationship with the new government.
Ljubljana
The MPs representing the Italian and Hungarian minorities, Felice Žiža (left) and Ferenc Horvath (right).
Photo: Daniel Novakovič/STA
File photo
Žiža got 60.8% of the vote to beat Maurizio Tremul among the members of the Italian community who cast their ballot. The turnout among almost 2,700 eligible voters was 68.7%, National Electoral Commission data show.
In the Hungarian community, Horváth got 58.3% of the vote ahead of Mihael Kasaš (23.2%) and Otto Močnek (18.5%). The turnout among the nearly 5,500 eligible voters was 59%.
MPs for the constitutionally recognised minorities are elected in separate constituencies, with each community having guaranteed representation in parliament.
Minority MPs tend to vote with the government but rarely cast tie-breaker votes, though both Žiža and Horvath often contributed to the passage of laws over the last two years of the Janez Janša government, in particular in the last year, when it was relegated to minority status.
Both Žiža and Horváth expect the government to get in touch with them once it is sworn in so as to jointly pinpoint good solutions for future cooperation and sign a cooperation agreement.
Žiža said minority MPs had cooperated with all governments and expected a similarly constructive cooperation with the new government, a point also raised by Horváth.