Minority reps elected in eight municipalities, one to have by-election
Ljubljana, 22 November - The Italian and Hungarian minorities have elected their representatives on the city council in eight municipalities in the regions of Primorska and Prekmurje where they are autochthonous. The ninth municipality entitled to a minority representative will hold a by-election because no minority candidate was fielded there.
Lendava
The town of Lendava, one of five municipalities in Slovenia that is entitled to a Hungarian minority representative on the city council.
Photo: STA
File photo
Members of the Italian and Hungarian ethnic minorities have dual right to vote in the country's local elections.
This means that they are entitled to at least one representative on the city council in each of the municipalities where the two minorities are autochthonous.
There are four municipalities with the Italian minority on the coast, and five with the Hungarian minority in Prekmurje, northeast.
The municipalities where the Hungarians lives are Lendava, Dobrovnik, Šalovci, Moravske Toplice and Hodoš.
Two minority representatives are elected in Lendava and Moravske Toplice each, and one in each of the remaining three municipalities.
The Hungarian minority's city councillors in Lendava in the next four years will be Robert Požonec and Mihael Šooš; Zsuzsi Vugrinec and Bojan Šušlek were elected in Moravske Toplice; Teodor Varga in Dobrovnik; and Dušan Orban in Šalovci.
Interestingly, Dobrovnik has a majority Hungarian population, so ethnic Slovenians there elect its representative. In the next four years, this will be Jure Jurinić.
Hodoš will have to hold a by-election on 5 February because the Hungarian minority did not fielded its candidate.
On the coast, Koper and Piran each get three Italian minority representatives (elected were Alberto Scheriani, Roberta Vincoletto, Mario Steffé; and Andrea Bartole, Christian Poletti, Nadia Zigante, respectively).
Two representatives are elected in Izola (Agnese Babič, Marko Gregorič) and one in Ankaran (Martina Angelini), the youngest and smallest of the four coastal municipalities.
Also having dual right to vote in local elections are members of the Roma community, which elect one representative in twenty of Slovenia's 212 municipalities.