The Quorum Has Been Reached! Janša: Any Government Would Resign After Such A Double Slap

After 99.97 ballots have been counted, it is clear that more than 90 percent of the voters voted against the Artists’ Pensions Supplement Act in the referendum. The quorum has thus already been exceeded, and the law on Asta Vrečko’s privileged pensions has been rejected.

• President of the Slovenian Democratic Party (Slovenska demokratska stranka – SDS), Janez Janša, commenting on the success of the referendum on the supplements to artists’ pensions, said that the result was a victory of reason and “for the part of the electorate in Slovenia that is aware that the country is moving in the wrong direction during the mandate of the current coalition.” He said that the sensible part of the Slovenian electorate had said a resounding no to such a course.“Today, Slovenia has taken a big step towards Slovenians taking back their stolen country,”the SDS party leader said in his first statement after the referendum success.He believes that the government coalition has received two slaps on the wrist in Sunday’s vote. First, by the electorate rejecting “a shameful law that sought to grant unjustified privileges to a few based on the decision-making of a political body,” and second, by the representatives of the executive who called for a boycott of the referendum.According to Janša, this is the first time in the history of independent Slovenia that those who wrote in the coalition agreement that they would encourage participation in elections and referendums have called on voters to boycott them. “They counted on the fact that the very high quorum for the validity of the referendum would be difficult to reach, but not only was it reached, it was or will be far exceeded. More than 400,000 Slovenian voters voted in favour of reason,” he stressed.“Any government would have resigned by itself after such a double slap. However, I doubt that this change of mind will take place,” Janša said. He added that it was up to the Slovenian electorate to “respond to such a reaction or non-reaction at the next elections, which in any case will happen within a year.”

• Speaking about the referendum rejection of the law on pension supplements, the President of the New Slovenia party (Nova Slovenija – NSi), Matej Tonin, said that democracy had triumphed over the boycott called for in the government ranks. In his opinion, the result is also the beginning of the end of the Robert Golob “From today on, everything will be easier, and the victory of a centre-right government is possible,”he said. In a press statement after the results of today’s referendum vote were announced, Tonin thanked all the citizens who went to the polls on a beautiful Sunday in May, showing that Slovenia still means something to them. “Today, we can celebrate victory,” he said. In his view, democracy has triumphed over the boycott called for by the Freedom Movement (Gibanje Svoboda) and the Left (Levica) parties, which is “a clear and most pure message, especially important for the future development of our republic.” Democracy is the thing to bet on, Tonin believes. The message of Sunday’s referendum vote, he believes, is also that it is the beginning of the end of the current government. “From here on, everything will be easier, a centre-right government victory is possible, change is possible, things will start to change. This result has given everyone in the centre-right bloc a lot of hope,” the NSi leader said.

  

  He believes that the result shows that victories are possible if they focus on the things that connect them. “I think this is also a model for the future. Let’s not fight about all the small differences, the unimportant things, but let’s focus on what is really essential, on what unites us, which is that in the next parliamentary elections, there will be a change – we will not continue with the Golob government,” he said.

  He would also have expected the resignation of the Minister of Culture, Asta Vrečko. Even if he believes that the Prime Minister has a greater responsibility in this position, the NSi party President says that he is not so naive as to believe that the Prime Minister would be able to take political responsibility and resign. “He will most probably look for other arguments as to why this happened today. But I think the message from the electorate is clear, that the boycott was not accepted and that the people chose democracy,” Tonin concluded.

• Slovenian People’s Party (Slovenska ljudska stranka – SLS) President Tina Bregantalso commented on the referendum, saying: “We in the Slovenian People’s Party are happy that so many voters took part in the referendum. This is proof that people are aware that every vote counts and that we want to respect democratic foundations. Such a turnout is a good sign for the next elections, because it means that we, Slovenians, will not let anyone take away our vote, and that we want to decide for ourselves. Today, in the referendum, voters clearly rejected the law on the supplements to pensions for outstanding achievements in the arts. We see this decision as a clear message: politics must be based on fairness, not on a non-transparent system of privilege. The controversial law did not introduce systemic support for artists, but an allowance for a few – according to non-transparent criteria and without a clear link to the social situation of the individual. People know that artistic value is not measured by political criteria; it is right that an artist should live with dignity from his or her work in retirement – just like the rest of us. We politicians are at the service of you, the citizens, not at the service of the powerful circles.”

 

• When it was clear that the quorum for rejection of the referendum had been reached, shouts of joy could be heard from the top floor of the building on Trstenjakova Street, where the SDS party is based.

• Pavel Rupar, leader of the pensioners’ party Voice of Pensioners (Glas upokojencev), also sent a message of thanks to the pensioners for their participation in the referendum. “Not only because you voted against this crazy law, but because you voted against the government.”He predicted that their time is coming.

• In her first reaction after the referendum rejection of the law on the pension supplement for outstanding achievements in the arts, the Left party coordinator and Minister of Culture Asta Vrečkosaid that the referendum was aimed at counting votes on the right. She believes that the call for a boycott by part of the coalition was not a mistake. The coalition remains united, she predicted.

• SDS MP Zvonko Černač, commenting on the partial results of the referendum on artists’ pension supplements, said that the results showed that a quorum had been reached and the law had been plebiscitarily rejected, even with the votes of the ruling coalition. “Which means that the coalition was, in a sense, given a vote of no-confidence by the plebiscitary vote against,”he said. Černač first thanked all the voters who took part in the referendum. “Above all, to all of you who voted against this harmful law,” he added. When asked what the SDS party would do if the quorum was reached, Černač replied that this was the responsibility of the ruling coalition. “In the next few months, in our estimation, it cannot do anything good anymore until the elections. Therefore, it would be time to seriously examine this situation and to allow Slovenia to get a government that will act responsibly in the interests of the voters,” he stressed.

• The two biggest TV channels, the national broadcaster Radio-Television Slovenia (RTVS) and the commercial POP TV, have suspended their coverage of the referendum results.

• According to political scientist Dr Miro Haček, the quorum will be reached, and the petitioners have succeeded. “The Freedom movement and the Left Party have shot themselves in the foot by calling for non-participation.”

• MP Andrej Hoivik, who was also the first signatory of the request for a referendum, and is convinced that a quorum can be achieved, addressed the media in the courtyard of the Slovenian Democratic Party headquarters. He thanked all the voters who had taken part in the referendum and stressed that the people have the power – “and today was an opportunity for the people to say a resounding no to the privileges granted by the government of Robert Golob and also a resounding no to the arrogance of this government.”He is convinced that the overwhelming majority will vote against the law: “I am sure that the people have also realised during the campaign that Robert Golob and his government are taxing working people, that they are taxing pensioners and, last but not least, young people, and today the voters had the opportunity to say no to this and also to give a slap on the wrist to his coalition partners, too, especially to the Left party, which has often manipulated certain data in the campaign itself.”
  
  He once again addressed the call for a boycott by the Freedom Movement and the Left party. “I think this is undemocratic and unprecedented in the independent Republic of Slovenia,” he said.

• At 7 p.m., the polls closed. The first results are expected after 7:30 p.m. The law will be rejected in the referendum if 338,491 voters vote against it.

• Former Prime Minister and President of the Republic Borut Pahoralso appeared at the polling station.

• Prime Minister Robert Golob boycotted Sunday’s referendum in Bled.

• Former minister and MP of the Party of Alenka Bratušek (Stranka Alenke Bratušek – SAB), Marko Bandelli, also voted against the law on privileged pensions.

• By 4 p.m., 299,949 voters had cast their ballot, or 17.72 percent of the eligible electorate. According to the State Election Commission (DVK), the highest voter turnout was in the Ptuj constituency, with 19.68 percent, while the lowest was in the Postojna constituency, with 15.03 percent. The county with the highest turnout was Škofja Loka 2, with 29.19 percent, and the county with the lowest turnout was Koper 1, with 8.08 percent.

• Janez Janšareiterated his call for participation in the referendum. He recalled that in Slovenia, power is vested in the people, and is exercised by the citizens through the ballot box. He warned that this fundamental constitutional right could be taken away tomorrow.

• Jani Prednik, leader of the Social Democrats parliamentary group (Socialni demokrati – SD), also took part in the referendum. He called on other citizens to cast their votes.

• By 11:00 a.m., 138,809 voters had cast their ballot, or 8.2 percent of those eligible to vote. According to the district election commissions, the highest voter turnout was in the Kranj constituency, with 9.17 percent, while the lowest was in the Postojna constituency, 7 percent. The county with the highest turnout was Škofja Loka 2, with 13.64 percent, and the lowest was Koper 1, with 3.69 percent.

• The Ministry of the Interior’s on-call service received 27 reports of alleged violations of the election silence between Saturday and noon on Sunday. However, it is important to note that citizens are free to use social networks to encourage people to vote.

• After casting her vote in the referendum on the law on the pension supplements for outstanding achievements in the arts, the President of the Republic, Nataša Pirc Musar, said that by casting her vote, she had shown what elections and referendums mean to her personally. She has not missed a referendum or an election since she came of age. Participating in a subsequent legislative referendum is important to her because it is about the existence or non-existence of a law that has already been passed, she said after casting her vote at a polling station in Radomlje. “Elections and referendums are one of the few opportunities we voters have to express our will,”she pointed out. In this context, she believes it is right to participate in both referendums and elections. However, she found the campaign leading up to today’s subsequent legislative referendum “brutal”. She would like to see future election campaigns be cultural. She herself would like to see a culture of dialogue in politics. “Pre-election campaigns are the ideal opportunity to show how we think in politics, but in a decent way,” she pointed out.
• “If we Slovenians want to be at the level of Switzerland’s prosperity one day, we need to wake up earlier and go to the polls and referendums like they do in Switzerland,” Janez Janša said at the beginning of his speech at the polling station in his home town of Šentilj near Velenje, where he came to vote with his wife Urška Bačovnik Janša, adding that it is clear that people do not support a law that gives unjustified privileges to a few. The question, however, is to what extent Slovenians are willing to make an effort to impose their will. He recalled the tradition of Greek democracy, where it was said that bad governments and leaders are usually elected by good people who do not go to the polls. Greek philosophers added that those who do not engage in politics end up being ruled by idiots. “Today is also a test of the democratic maturity of the Slovenian electorate,” Janša said.

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“V Sloveniji 🇸🇮 ima oblast ljudstvo. Državljanke in državljani jo izvršujejo neposredno in z volitvami…”

3. člen Ustave RS

Danes vam naročajo, da to temeljno pravico in ustavo bojkotirate. Jutri vam jo bodo vzeli.

Zato bodi danes suveren. #ODLOČAJ pic.twitter.com/Ym2EfIy0Wi

— Janez Janša (@JJansaSDS) May 11, 2025

• 23,102 voters, or 1.36 percent of all eligible voters, cast their ballots in the early voting.

• The law will be rejected in the referendum if a majority of the electorate casting a valid vote votes against it and at least one fifth of the total electorate votes against it at the same time. According to the latest figures on the number of voters, which are 1,692,455; 338,491 voters must vote against the law this time.

• The State Electoral Commission is expected to announce the first turnout figures after noon for the 11:00 a.m. turnout and after 5:00 p.m. for the 4:00 p.m. turnout. After the polling stations have closed, turnout data will be reported and updated at the same time as the voting results, starting after 7:30 p.m.

• More than 3,000 polling stations across the country opened their doors for referendum voting at 7:00 a.m. Voters are deciding whether to enact the law on pension supplements for outstanding achievements in the arts. Polling stations will be open until 7:00 p.m., with the first results of today’s vote expected after 7:30 p.m.