Snap elections returned a fragmented National Assembly. The Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS), led by former Prime Minister Janez Janša, became the largest party, winning 25 of the 90 seats at stake. The List, led by Marjan Šarec (LMS, an anti-establishment party), won twice as many seats than the outgoing Prime Minister Miro Cerar’s Modern Centre Party (SMC, formerly known as the Party of Miro Cerar) and the Social Democrats (SD, led by Minister for Agriculture Dejan Židan). On 17 August, the National Assembly approved a five-party minority government led by Mr. Šarec. It comprised LMS, SD, SMC, the Democratic Party of the Pensioners of Slovenia (DeSUS) and the Party of Alenka Bratušek (STRANKA AB). The five parties jointly held 43 seats.

During the election campaign, the SDS promised to cut taxes and accelerate privatization. SDS leader Mr, Janša pledged to put “Slovenians first” and opposed the EU’s migration quotas. Other electoral issues included quality of life and sustainable development. The major parties ruled out the possibility of forming a coalition government with the SDS and criticized the SDS anti-migration platform.

The snap elections were triggered by the resignation of Prime Minister Cerar on 14 March. This was after the Supreme Court annulled the result of a September 2017 referendum (that approved a railway project worth €1 billion) and ordered a fresh referendum. Other parliamentary parties were unable to form a government within the constitutional 30-day deadline. On 15 April, President Borut Pahor (independent, formerly SD) dissolved the National Assembly so that early elections could be held in June.