Slovakia Approves New Electoral Deposit of Over 40,000 Euros for Parliamentary Elections

Slovakia's parliament has approved a new electoral deposit system that will require political parties to pay over 40,000 euros to participate in parliamentary elections, a significant increase from current requirements. Only thirteen political parties currently have sufficient funds in their accounts to meet this threshold. The measure comes after Prime Minister Robert Fico of the ruling Smer-SD party advocated for even higher barriers to prevent what he called "all kinds of fools and half-fools" from running for parliament, originally proposing a 500,000-euro deposit and raising the electoral threshold to seven percent. However, Fico appears unable to push through the higher threshold due to opposition from smaller coalition partners Hlas and the Slovak National Party (SNS), who would themselves be at risk of failing to meet stricter requirements. The new deposit requirement represents a compromise that will still significantly limit which parties can afford to compete in the March 2026 parliamentary elections.