At stake in this election:

• The office of President of Slovakia

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Michal NOVAC *
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Mikulas DZURINDA
• Assembly: Slovakia has a unicameral National Council of the Slovak Republic (Narodna Rada Slovenskej Republiky) with 150 seats.

* President NOVAC retired at the end of his term; the government has announced its intention to hold direct presidential election in early 1999; in the meantime the prime minister takes over the president's duties.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by absolute majority vote through a two-round system to serve a 5-year term.
• The Prime Minister is appointed by the president with the approval of the parliament.
• In the National Council of the Slovak Republic (Narodna Rada Slovenskej Republiky) 150 members are elected through a party-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms.

Main Candidates in the Second Round of the Presidential race:

• Rudolf Schuster
  Party: Party of Civic Understanding (SOP)
• Vladimir Meciar
  Party: Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS)

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 5,396,020 (1999)
• Registered Voters: 4,038,899 (1999)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 2,773,763 (1999)

·         Is Slovakia a signatory to CEDAW: No

·         Has Slovakia ratified CEDAW: Yes, succession (28 May 1993)

·         Gender Quota: No (there are political parties that have voluntary gender quotas)

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 19 (following the 1998 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 35 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A

Disability Data:

·         Is Slovakia a signatory to CRPD: Yes (26 September 2007)

·         Has Slovakia ratified CRPD: Yes (26 May 2010)

·         Population with a disability: 809,403 (est.)