Slovakia prepares for 2026 municipal and regional elections

In preparation for the October 2026 municipal and regional elections in Slovakia, the Ministry of Interior has outlined requirements for independent candidates. To run for office, independent candidates must collect a specific number of citizen signatures, which varies based on the population of the municipality. For example, a candidate in a town with over 100,000 residents requires 1,000 signatures, while a candidate for a regional council president also needs 1,000 signatures.

Separately, the Trnava Self-Governing Region is considering increasing its number of regional councilors from 40 to 42. This move follows a protest by the General Prosecutor's Office regarding the distribution of mandates across electoral districts. The prosecutor argued that the current distribution creates significant disparities in the number of citizens represented per councilor. The proposed change would add one mandate to the Skalica district and one to the Dunajská Streda district, aiming to keep the population-to-representative ratio difference below 25 percent.