About this election
Slovakia holds a national referendum on Saturday, 4 July 2026. It was called on the basis of a citizens' petition accepted on 23 March 2026 and formally proclaimed by the President of the Slovak Republic in decision No. 60/2026 Coll. of 20 April 2026, and is conducted under Act No. 180/2014 Coll. on the conditions for exercising the right to vote. Voters were asked two separate Yes/No questions — one on abolishing the so-called "lifetime annuity" paid to certain constitutional officials, and one on restoring two anti-corruption bodies that were dissolved in 2024. Turnout reached just 16.13%, far short of the 50% quorum, so — as with almost every Slovak referendum — the vote is invalid and not binding, even though both questions drew overwhelming Yes majorities. The sections below set out the exact wording, the final figures, how Slovak referendums work, why so few of them have ever produced a binding result, and the political context.
With all 5,545 polling districts counted, turnout was 16.13% — one of the lowest in any Slovak referendum and far below the 50% of eligible voters required for a binding result. Both questions were therefore invalid (not binding), regardless of how the votes fell. Among those who did take part, both questions passed overwhelmingly: Question 1 drew 93.43% Yes to 5.32% No (658,937 votes to 37,553), and Question 2 drew 92.23% Yes to 6.07% No (650,490 to 42,876). The shares are as published by the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic — shares of all ballots cast, so Yes and No do not sum to 100% (the remainder are invalid ballots). Because participation fell short of the quorum, neither result binds parliament.
The ballot puts two questions to voters, each answered separately with "yes" (áno) or "no" (nie). The official wording, as published by the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic, is:
Question 1. „Súhlasíte so zrušením tzv. doživotnej renty, napríklad, pre Roberta Fica, ustanovenej v § 24a ods. 1 písm. b) zákona č. 120/1993 Z. z. o platových pomeroch niektorých ústavných činiteľov Slovenskej republiky v aktuálnom znení?"
In English: "Do you agree with abolishing the so-called lifetime annuity — for example, for Robert Fico — laid down in § 24a(1)(b) of Act No. 120/1993 Coll. on the salary conditions of certain constitutional officials of the Slovak Republic, in its current wording?"
Question 2. „Súhlasíte s tým, aby boli obnovené Úrad špeciálnej prokuratúry a Národná kriminálna agentúra?"
In English: "Do you agree that the Office of the Special Prosecutor and the National Criminal Agency should be re-established?"
Question 1 targets the financial allowance — informally a "lifetime pension" — that senior constitutional officials are entitled to, naming Prime Minister Robert Fico as an example. Question 2 concerns the Office of the Special Prosecutor (Úrad špeciálnej prokuratúry, ÚŠP) and the National Criminal Agency (NAKA), two bodies central to high-level corruption investigations that the Fico government abolished as part of its 2024 overhaul of the criminal law. Each question must separately clear the turnout quorum described below to be binding.
Under the Slovak constitution, a national referendum can be triggered in two ways: by a resolution of the National Council (the 150-seat unicameral parliament), or by a petition signed by at least 350,000 citizens. In both cases it is the President of the Republic who formally announces the referendum and sets the date. Referendums are used to decide "important questions of public interest," but the constitution explicitly forbids putting fundamental rights and freedoms, taxes, levies and the state budget to a popular vote — a limit that the Constitutional Court has enforced, notably when it struck down part of a 2021 petition that sought to shorten the sitting parliament's term.
The defining feature of Slovak referendums is a high participation threshold: for the result to be valid and binding, more than half of all eligible voters must take part. This quorum has proved decisive — and usually fatal. Of the national referendums held since Slovakia became independent in 1993, only one has ever reached the threshold and produced a binding outcome: the September 2003 vote on joining the European Union, in which about 92% voted yes on a turnout of roughly 52%. Every other referendum — on topics ranging from privatisation and direct presidential elections to a 2015 vote on family and marriage and a 2023 attempt to make it easier to call early elections — failed because turnout fell short, rendering the result merely advisory regardless of how lopsided the vote itself was.
When a referendum does clear the turnout bar, its result carries the force of law. Parliament is obliged to give effect to it, and a successful referendum proposition can only be altered or repealed by the National Council after three years have elapsed. This gives a binding referendum unusual weight in the Slovak system — but the combination of the quorum and frequently low engagement means that, in practice, referendums have more often served as instruments of political mobilisation and protest than as a routine tool of direct democracy.
Slovakia is governed by a coalition led by Robert Fico's SMER – Social Democracy party, which returned to power after the September 2023 parliamentary election alongside HLAS and the Slovak National Party (SNS). Fico's governments have repeatedly clashed with the political opposition and with parts of the European mainstream over the rule of law, media policy and foreign policy, including Slovakia's stance on the war in Ukraine. The 2026 referendum is a petition initiative driven by the opposition, and both of its questions push directly against the government's record: the abolition of the lifetime allowance for officials such as Fico, and the restoration of the Special Prosecutor's Office and NAKA, whose dissolution in 2024 drew domestic protests and criticism from the European Commission over the protection of EU financial interests. The vote should be read against this backdrop of intense polarisation, and — as ever in Slovakia — against the question of whether enough voters will turn out to make any result binding.
| Referendum | Turnout | Valid? |
| 2003 — EU accession | ~52.1% | Yes |
| 2015 — family referendum | ~21.4% | No (quorum) |
| 2023 — early elections | ~27.3% | No (quorum) |
As with every Slovak referendum, the single most important number will be turnout: unless participation exceeds 50%, neither question will bind whatever the balance of Yes and No. Beyond that, watch whether the two questions diverge — voters may treat the pension question and the prosecutorial-bodies question differently — which side mobilises its supporters most effectively, and how the vote feeds into the broader struggle between the Fico government and its opponents.
Slovak referendums are held on a single day, with polling stations open from 7:00 in the morning until 22:00 in the evening, and citizens vote in person by marking a separate ballot for each question put to them. Slovaks living abroad have more limited voting options than in parliamentary elections, which adds to the difficulty of reaching the 50% turnout quorum. Results are collected from district commissions and aggregated by the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic, which publishes running totals through the evening. Because validity hinges entirely on participation, both sides tend to focus as much on persuading their own supporters to turn out as on the merits of the question itself.
This page shows the final Yes/No result for each of the two questions and the turnout against the 50% threshold, with a regional (kraj) breakdown, using data published by the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic.
The referendum is held on Saturday 4 July 2026, with polling stations open from 7:00 to 22:00. It was called on a citizens' petition and proclaimed by the President of the Slovak Republic (decision No. 60/2026 Coll. of 20 April 2026). Voters are asked two questions: (1) whether to abolish the so-called lifetime annuity for certain constitutional officials, named with Robert Fico as an example; and (2) whether to re-establish the Office of the Special Prosecutor and the National Criminal Agency (NAKA).
For the result to be binding, more than 50% of all eligible voters must take part — a high quorum that has caused most Slovak referendums to fail. Of the referendums held since independence in 1993, only one (the 2003 EU-accession vote) has reached the turnout threshold. Each of the two 2026 questions must separately clear the quorum to bind.
Citizens can vote on important issues of public interest, but the constitution bars referendums on fundamental rights, taxes, levies and the state budget. A successful referendum result has the force of law and can only be changed by parliament after three years.
Slovakia is governed by a coalition led by Robert Fico's SMER party, returned to office in 2023. The 2026 referendum is an opposition-driven petition initiative: both questions push against the government's record, including its 2024 abolition of the Special Prosecutor's Office and NAKA.
Turnout was 16.13% — far below the 50% quorum — so the referendum is invalid and not binding, as with almost every Slovak referendum. Among those who voted, both questions passed overwhelmingly: Question 1 by 93.43% Yes to 5.32% No, and Question 2 by 92.23% Yes to 6.07% No (shares of all ballots cast, published by the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic).
Compiled and reviewed by Bartłomiej Paruzel, Election Data Analyst, from official results. See our data methodology.