The Forum for Agriculture and Rural Areas of the Slovenian Democratic Party (Slovenska demokratska stranka – SDS), headed by former Minister of Agriculture, Jože Podgoršek, won 21 of the 44 seats on the board of the Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry of Slovenia (KGZS), according to unofficial results.
On Sunday, more than 110,000 farmers as physical members voted for representatives to the Chamber’s Council, the highest body of the Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry, and the councils of its 13 regional units.
According to the first partial unofficial results, the SDS party’s Forum for Agriculture and Rural Areas is the big winner with 21 council seats (four years ago, they won only six seats). They are followed by the Slovenian Farmer Association (nine seats), the United Farmers’ Union and the List of Roman Žveglič (four seats), the Slovenian Farmers’ Union (SKZ) and the Farmers’ Association of the New Slovenia (Nova Slovenija – NSi) party (three seats each), and the following organisations will have one councillor each: the Farmers’ Initiative, the Cattle Breeders’ Associations of Dobrepolje, Ribnica and Velike Lašče, the List of Anton Hohler and the Peter Vriska Farmers’ List, which is the biggest loser of this year’s chamber elections, alongside the Slovenian Farmers’ Union, as it previously had as many as fifteen councillors.
The Forum for Agriculture and Rural Areas of the SDS party won in all constituencies. The most convincing victory of the SDS Forum was in Postojna, where the SDS Forum won five seats. According to unofficial results from the Maribor constituency, Janko Rojko from Duplek won the most votes – as many as 134.
Some of the potential candidates for the position of President of the Chamber – which will be selected among the newly-elected Councillors at their inaugural meeting at the end of the month – have been successful in the elections. They are the current President, Roman Žveglič, former Minister of Agriculture and current President of the SDS Forum for Agriculture and Rural Areas, Jože Podgoršek, President of the Farmers’ Initiative, Boštjan Slemenšek, and the representative of the Slovenian Farmer Association, Robert Golc, who is also the Head of the Agricultural Advisory Department at the Agricultural and Forestry Institute in Kranj.
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