Volitve – največja civilna akcija v državi

Državna volilna komisija (DVK) se intenzivno pripravlja na parlamentarne volitve, ki bodo 22. marca 2026. Za nemoteno izvedbo volitev je predvideno sodelovanje približno 20.000 ljudi na skoraj 3000 voliščih po vsej Sloveniji, kar predstavlja največjo civilno akcijo v državi. V vladnem GOVSI podkastu je predsednik DVK Igor Zorčič poudaril, da je zaupanje v volilne postopke temelj legitimnosti izvoljene oblasti. »Zaupanje v volilne postopke generira zaupanje v volilni izid, zaupanje v izid pa legitimnost oblasti. Delo volilnih organov je zato izjemno pomembno.« Vse državljane je povabil, naj se volitev udeležijo v čim večjem številu, saj s tem prispevajo k legitimnosti in stabilnosti naše demokracije.

Priprave so se začele z analizo izvedbe preteklih volitev in referendumov. Poseben poudarek je bil namenjen izboljšavam postopkov, ki jih je mogoče uvesti brez spremembe zakonodaje. DVK kot izvajalski organ skrbi za natančno in transparentno uporabo veljavnih pravil ter za dodatna navodila, kjer je to potrebno.

Z voditeljico Petro Bezjak Cirman sta se pogovarjala tudi o morebitnih napakah. Pojasnil je, da do napak sicer lahko pride zaradi obsega dela in velikega števila vpletenih v volilni proces. Ključno za zaupanje je, da volilna pravila vsebujejo tudi varovalke in pravna sredstva za primer nepravilnosti. Teh je več (na primer pritožbe zoper delo volilnih organov), čeprav si na DVK želijo, da jih ne bi bilo treba uporabljati. Dodatno varovalo pa predstavlja pluralna sestava volilnih organov, ki omogoča medsebojni nadzor različnih deležnikov.

Vabljeni k ogledu pogovora na YouTube kanalu Vlade Republike Slovenije.

[ENGLISH VERSION]

Elections – The Largest Civic Operation in the Country

The National Election Commission (NEC) is intensively preparing for the parliamentary elections to be held on 22 March 2026. To ensure the smooth conduct of the elections, approximately 20,000 people will be engaged at nearly 3000 polling stations across Slovenia, making this the largest civic operation in the country. In the government GOVSI podcast, President Igor Zorčič emphasized that trust in electoral procedures is the foundation of the legitimacy of elected authority. »Trust in electoral procedures generates trust in the election result, and trust in the result generates the legitimacy of authority. The work of electoral bodies is therefore extremely important.« He invited all citizens to participate in the elections in as great numbers as possible, as this contributes to the legitimacy and stability of Slovenia’s democracy.

Preparations began with an analysis of the implementation of previous elections and referendums. Special emphasis was placed on procedural improvements that can be introduced without legislative amendments. As the implementing authority, the NEC ensures the precise and transparent application of existing rules and provides additional instructions where necessary.

In conversation with host Petra Bezjak Cirman, Zorčič also addressed the possibility of errors. He explained that errors can occur due to the scope of the work and the large number of people involved in the electoral process. What is crucial for maintaining trust is that electoral rules include safeguards and legal remedies in cases of irregularities. There are several such mechanisms (for instance appeals against the work of electoral bodies), although NEC hopes they will not need to be used. An additional safeguard is the plural composition of electoral bodies, which enables mutual oversight among different stakeholders.

You are invited to watch the conversation on the YouTube channel of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia. 

Transcript

Zaupanje v volilne postopke generira zaupanje v volilni izid. Zaupanje v volilni izid generira legitimnost oblasti. Načeloma sem naklonjen vsaki digitalizaciji, ampak zavedati se moramo, da prinaša tudi neke slabe stvari. To je izziv ne samo za te volitve, ampak za prihajajoče desetletje.

Vladni podkast GOVSI.

Dober dan, spoštovane gledalke in gledalci, poslušalke in poslušalci. Pozdravljeni v 36. epizodi vladnega podkasta GOVSI v produkciji Urada vlade za komuniciranje. Z vami sem Petra Bezjak Cirman. Danes se bomo pogovarjali o volitvah in volilnih postopkih, ki nas čakajo na parlamentarnih volitvah 22. marca. Zaupanje v demokratične institucije in postopke je temelj stabilne demokratične države, tudi če rezultati volitev niso vedno vsem po godu. In prav zato je verodostojnost volitev tako pomembna. Ena ključnih institucij, ki skrbi za izvedbo volitev, je Državna volilna komisija, ki jo vodi naš današnji gost, gospod Igor Zorčič. Lepo pozdravljeni.

Lepo pozdravljeni.

Pa se ustaviva kar pri zaupanju, ki sem ga omenila na začetku. Abraham Lincoln je v enem od svojih govorov dejal: »The ballot is stronger than the bullet«, glasovnica je močnejša od naboja, in ob tem povedal, da če le ljudje verjamejo v poštenost štetja. Zakaj je zaupanje v volilne postopke tako pomembno?

Pomembno je zato, ker zaupanje v volilne postopke generira zaupanje v volilni izid, zaupanje v volilni izid pa generira legitimnost oblasti, ki je izvoljena. Zaradi tega je delo volilnih organov izjemno pomembno. Mogoče v današnjem času še bolj kot v preteklosti. V tujini marsikje opažamo, da so pogosto državni volilni organi tarča raznoraznih neutemeljenih kritik, zato da se spodkopava najprej zaupanje v volilne organe in na koncu tudi v volilni izid in v samo oblast, ki je izvoljena. Mogoče na preteklih volitvah ali pa v tisto, ki bo izvoljena na tekočih. Včasih se to dela tudi na zalogo.

Kakšna je vloga Državne volilne komisije pri ohranjanju tega zaupanja v volitve?

Torej, vloga Državne volilne komisije je biti varuh volilnih procesov. Zakon, ki določa, kako se volitve izpeljejo, je precej podroben. Pa vendarle mora Državna volilna komisija po eni strani zagotoviti tudi dodatna pravila tam, kjer niso zakonsko določena, zato da so postopki predvidljivi, transparentni in da jim ljudje na koncu lahko zaupajo in pravila oziroma določiti postopek, da je na koncu tudi izid, ki je seštevek glasov vseh volivcev, pošten in transparenten.

Verjetno so volilni procesi sedaj že v polnem teku. Kaj vse počnete?

Tako je. Volilna opravila za volitve, ki bodo 22. marca letošnjega leta, so se začela že 12. januarja. Mi smo se na volitve pripravljali že prej, res pa je, da nas je vmes prekinil še en referendum. Ampak ne glede na to smo ta 12. januar pričakali dobro pripravljeni in jaz upam, da bodo vse priprave vse do zadnjega dne, torej do 22. marca, potekale tako, kot smo si začrtali. To pomeni, da smo na eni strani najprej pregledali, kakšne so bile morebitne pomanjkljivosti na prejšnjih volitvah, kaj lahko izboljšamo, ne da bi spreminjali zakonodajo, ker spreminjanje zakonodaje v pristojnosti zakonodajalca, ne nas. Kaj je tisto, kar lahko najhitreje naredimo v smislu, da zadeve izboljšamo in da morda ne bo kakšnih pomislekov ali pa kritik, da bi lahko nekatere stvari naredili bolje, kot je bilo na prejšnjih volitvah. To je bil naš uvod, ki se je začel že lansko leto, takoj po majskem referendumu, mi namreč prehajamo iz enega referenduma v drugega. In takrat se je začel delati nek osnovni okvir dela, ki ga moramo zastaviti. Potem pa bolj ko se je približeval datum, ko je predsednica republike razpisala volitve, bolj smo šli v podrobne zadeve, torej priprava osnutkov pravil. Zdaj mogoče še nekaj, da pojasnim za gledalce. Državna volilna komisija je sestavljena iz Službe Državne volilne komisije, katere direktor sem jaz, in Državne volilne komisije, ki jo sestavljajo člani, ki so imenovani v državnem zboru. Služba Državne volilne komisije torej pripravlja vse to gradivo, ki je potem sprejeto na sami seji Državne volilne komisije. Jaz tam ne glasujem in mi smo v tem času pripravili vse to gradivo, ki je potrebno za samo podrobno izpeljavo volitev. In nenazadnje to gradivo je tudi objavljeno na spletni strani Državne volilne komisije.

Koliko ljudi je potrebnih za izvedbo volitev?

Za izvedbo volitev je potrebnih približno 20.000 ljudi. To je največja civilna akcija v Republiki Sloveniji. Če teh 20.000 ljudi ne bi imeli, nam tudi prostovoljci iz policije in vojske ne bi mogli pomagati, ker jih ne bi bilo dovolj. Pri tem gre ali pa recimo, da število 19.000 ljudi pade na člane odborov. Torej, to so člani, ki delajo na voliščih. Na vsakem volišču, ki jih je približno 3000, letos jih bo predvidoma 2987, dela šest ljudi, trije v eni izmeni, trije v drugi. Vseh šest se potem dobi in prešteje volilni izidi na volišču. Potem so tu še okrajne volilne komisije in volilne komisije volilne enote, Državna volilna komisija. Vseh teh, če ne štejem članov odborov, ki jih je 19.000, pa še približno tisoč.

Če pride do kakšnih nepravilnosti, verjetno se to kdaj zgodi, kako ukrepate?

Lahko pride do tega. Pri takem obsegu dela in pri toliko ljudeh, ki so vpleteni v volilni proces, lahko pride do napak. Pomembno za zaupanje v volilni proces in tako kot sem uvodoma povedal, za zaupanje na koncu v volilni izid, je, da pravila volilnih postopkov, pravila, ki določajo, kako se postopa do ugotovitve izida, da določajo tudi varovalke, kaj narediti, če se zgodi to in to. Torej, teh pravnih sredstev je več. Mi si želimo, da ne bodo uporabljena. To so lahko pritožbe zoper delo volilnega organa, zoper ugotavljanje izida. Lahko torej govorimo o pritožbi zoper delo na volilnem odboru na volišču, o pritožbi zoper delo okrajne volilne komisije, volilne komisije volilne enote in tako naprej. Mi si ne želimo takšnih pritožb. Vse naredimo za to, da jih ni, torej, da so postopki čim bolj jasni, da tistim, ki se na nas obrnejo, pa morda zadeva niti ni po vsebini pritožba, da jim čimbolj pojasnimo, kaj se je dogajalo, zahtevamo informacije od okrajnih volilnih komisij. In to je recimo, da eno izmed zagotovil, da ti postopki tečejo pravilno oziroma da če pride do napake, da se zadeve sanirajo. Mislim pa, če smem še to poudariti, da je pri samih volitvah še največji garant, glede na to, da gre za takšno število ljudi, še največji garant ali varovalka dobrega dela, ki uživa zaupanje volivk in volivcev, je pluralna sestava volilnih organov. Kaj pomeni pluralna sestava? To pomeni, da so v teh organih med vsemi temi 20 000 ljudmi ljudje, ki so jih predlagale različne politične stranke, lokalne skupnosti, kar pomeni, da obstaja tudi nek vzajemen nadzor med njimi, ko skupaj delujejo.

Ali lahko se recimo kdo pojavi na volišču in reče: Želel bi nadzorovati štetje?

Ne more se kar tako prijaviti. Nasprotno, vsakdo, ki želi biti zaupnik, mora biti to v skladu s pravili. Če gre za neko organizacijo, mora biti akreditirana za to. Namreč na voliščih je treba zagotoviti tudi mir. Ne more se kar nekdo pojaviti tam in brez kakršnegakoli pooblastila okrajne volilne komisije oz. Državne volilne komisije reči, da je nadzornik volitev ali karkoli podobnega. Tako da vsak, ki si to želi, to je seveda možno po zakonu, ampak mora ustrezati zakonskim pogojem, mora za to zaprositi. Če gre za zaupnike kandidatnih list in jih kandidatne liste predlagajo kot zaupnike, teh je kar nekaj na voliščih. Imajo pravico biti tako v času glasovanja kot pri štetju glasov. Na drugi strani so pa tudi druge organizacije, ki se želijo akreditirani. Te organizacije se pa v skladu s pravili, ki bodo objavljena v kratkem na naši spletni strani, morajo prijaviti na Državni volilni komisiji in dobiti akreditacijo.

Govorite o mednarodnih organizacijah?

Tudi.

Je že katera napovedala?

Pričakujemo, da bo v Sloveniji OVSE. Nedavno so izdali poročilo oziroma odločitev, da gredo v opazovanje volitev v Republiki Sloveniji. Mi to samo pozdravljamo.

To sem vas vprašala, ker se je že pojavila ena pobuda v Sloveniji, da naj ljudje nadzorujejo štetje glasov, in že ustvarjajo ta vtis nezaupanja v naš volilni proces. Zato sem vprašala, kdo lahko spremlja.

Tako kot sem omenil. Zaenkrat mi nimamo nobenih težav s tem, da se volitve opazujejo, da se glasovanje opazuje, ampak samo po pravilih, ki so določena z zakonom, nikakor pa ne na lastno roko ali karkoli podobnega.

Sedaj bi samo še vas vprašala, kakšen je ta postopek, ko pridejo glasovnice do volišča. Sva že povedala, kaj se dogaja na volišču. Ali je možno, da recimo, to tudi pogosto kdo sporoča, da ena stranka manjka na volilnem lističu, da se da s posebnim kulijem kaj brisati. Takšne pogoste dezinformacije se sliši o volilnih procesih. Je to sploh mogoče? Kako izgleda od tega, ko natisnete glasovnice, pa da pridejo do volišč? Kakšna je ta pot?

Torej, kar se tiče samih glasovnic. Glasovnice so izdelane po strogo načrtovanem postopku za grafično postavitev. Kako bodo izgledale, kje bodo varnostni elementi ve zelo malo ljudi, konkretno na Državni volilni komisiji samo jaz. Kar se tiče potem same izdelave. Glasovnice se tiskajo pri zaupanja vrednem partnerju, ki potem te glasovnice tudi distribuira po vseh volilnih organih, torej na okrajne volilne komisije, od tam pa gredo na posamezna volišča.

So to varovani postopki?

V določenem delu bolj, v določenem manj. Bolj kot je razpršeno, manj je to varovano.

Zdaj sva govorila o tem, kako poteka delo na volišču. Kakšna pa je pot, da glasovnica pride do volišča? Verjetno tukaj ne more priti do kakšnih večjih zlorab.

Do večjih zlorab ne more priti. Vedno je lahko kje kakšen incident, kakšna sabotaža. Tudi na to moramo biti pripravljeni. Ampak vendarle ti postopki tako izdelave kot distribucije glasovnic so v veliki meri varovani, tako da se glede na preteklo prakso ne bojim v zvezi z glasovnicami, da te ne bi prišle do volivca, tako kot morajo priti. Se pa tu in tam pojavlja vprašanje, kaj je z glasovnicami na primer pri predčasnem glasovanju, ki poteka od torka do četrtka pred volilno nedeljo. Predvsem se je to vprašanje izpostavilo nekajkrat v zvezi z glasovanjem v Ljubljani, ki ima največje volišče za predčasno glasovanje. Tam je namreč strnjenih vseh 14 volilnih okrajev s področja Upravne enote Ljubljana in moramo zagotoviti, da so te glasovnice zelo dobro varovane. In če bi slučajno prišlo, na koncu koncev pride včasih tudi do ropa banke. Ampak če bi prišlo do kakršnega koli incidenta, bomo to pravočasno registrirali in tudi ustrezno ukrepali.

Bi se lahko zgodil takšen scenarij, kot se je recimo v Romuniji, ko je že kar naslednji dan ustavno sodišče razveljavilo romunske volitve. V Sloveniji pričakujete kaj takšnega? To je predvsem povezano z internetom, ki je danes dostopen. Vsakdo lahko objavi, kar želi. Ne vemo, ali to objavljajo slovenski državljani ali pa kakšne tuje organizacije. Akterji želijo vplivati na naše rezultate in zato objavljajo lažne novice.

Težko napovem, ali je kaj takšnega možno. Nenazadnje takšnega primera še nismo imeli in pri vsakem podobnem incidentu se sodna praksa ali ustavnosodna praksa vzpostavlja na novo. Jaz upam, da bodo organi, ki bodo na koncu presojali, verjetno na kakšni ustavni ravni, te zadeve vzeli dovolj resno, da bodo odreagirali tako, kot bodo velevala dejstva. Jaz se ne bi opredeljeval do Romunije, do Moldavije. Vsaka država ima svoje postopke, svoj način presoje, ali je bila kampanja vplivana oziroma ali je prišel vpliv iz tujine. Ampak vendarle jaz pravim tako. Najprej moramo poskrbeti, da bodo vsi naši akterji, vsi, ki bodo na tak ali drug način udeleženi v volitvah, pa najsi bodo to ali kandidatne liste ali neki opazovalci, neka civilnodružbena gibanja, da bodo ravnali pošteno in v skladu z namenom vseh volilnih procesov. Potem ko bomo pa prišli do tega, pa seveda, ali pa tudi vzporedno, moramo biti pozorni tudi na dogajanje v tujini. Ne glede na to, da smo majhna država, smo interesantni tako za velike globalne igralce kot za regionalne igralce.

V Nemčiji so lani imeli volitve in recimo ena taka dezinformacija, ki je zaokrožila, je, da ene stranke ni na volilnem lističu, da so jo izbrisali. Bi sploh kaj takšnega, v Nemčiji seveda to ni bilo res, ampak bi bilo kaj takšnega možno v Sloveniji, da bi se kakšno stranko lahko izbrisalo z volilnega lističa?

Ne, do tega ne more priti. Lahko pride do dezinformacije v zvezi s tem. Ampak tu lahko na vse gledalce apeliram samo v smislu, naj sledijo objavam Državne volilne komisije v zvezi s tem, ki jih bomo posredovali medijem, ki jih bomo objavljali na naši spletni strani. Mogoče še to naj povem. Naš glavni kanal komuniciranja bo naša spletna stran in bodo izjave, ki jih bomo dali javnim medijem. Ne bodo to druga družbena omrežja. Po moji oceni so družbena omrežja v zadnjih letih dobila nek povsem drug obraz. Danes jaz mislim, da je najbolj pogost tvit ali je to res, kar pomeni, da je verjetno tam 70 % lažnih informacij. To je zdaj neka moja čisto osebna ocena. In enostavno si kot državni organ ne moremo privoščiti, da zapademo v krog nekega obračunavanja, ki ga družbeno omrežje dopušča, in potem presojanja skozi nekakšne algoritme, umetno inteligenco in podobno. Torej tisto, kar bo objavljeno bodisi v živo skozi predstavnike Državne volilne komisije, kar bomo objavili na spletni strani, to štejte za našo izjavo.

Sami ste omenili. Umetna inteligenca, pojav globokega ponaredka. Ta je bil recimo prisoten na irskih volitvah. Verjetno se moramo pripraviti volivci in državljani Slovenije tudi na kaj takšnega, da bo kdo zlorabil glas, podobo kakšnega politika ne glede na barvo stranke in ga z vsemi temi novimi tehnologijami objavil in skušal zamajati zaupanje.

Ja, to je pa drug pojav pri družbenih omrežjih. Po eni strani to vprašanje, ali je to res, človek vpraša umetno inteligenco in preverja, če je nekaj res. Mislim, da to postaja že bizarno. Na drugi strani pa pojav teh generiranih videoposnetkov, ki jih izdela umetna inteligenca, ki jih je vse težje ločiti od pravih videoposnetkov. Mislim, da je to izziv ne samo za te volitve, ampak za prihajajoče desetletje ali stoletje in da bo morala Republika Slovenija slediti tudi v zakonodaji, da bo določila tisto institucijo, ki se bo s tem posebej namensko ukvarjala. Danes se vsi po malo. Malo se Državna volilna komisija, malo se vi ukvarjate, malo se ministrstvo za notranje zadeve. Vsi po malo, ampak vseeno je ta izziv in grožnja, ki izvira iz tega, tako pomembna, da bo država morala temu nameniti neko posebno pozornost in verjetno tudi neko izurjeno skupino strokovnjakov.

Kakšno pa je vaše mnenje, če smo še malo pri elektronskih medijih, o tem, da bi imeli elektronske volitve? Tudi to je bila ena od pobud v Sloveniji.

Jaz sem načeloma naklonjen vsaki digitalizaciji, ampak zavedati se moramo, da prinaša tudi neke slabe stvari. Če govorimo konkretno o volitvah, torej o e-glasovanju najprej, ker digitalizacija za nas pomeni tudi digitaliziranje morda še kakšnih drugih postopkov. Nekatere smo že, na primer vlaganje vlog za druge načine glasovanja prek e-uprave. To je danes praktično vse elektronsko. Ampak če se vrnem na e-glasovanje. E-glasovanje se doslej ni prijelo v veliko državah. Pravzaprav mislim, da se je samo v Estoniji, pa morda nekatere države to prakticirajo za neka oddaljena volišča, oddaljena ozemlja. Mislim, da je Francija takšna. Kljub temu da je ta informacijska tehnologija na izredno visoki ravni, da je na en način celo možno zagotoviti preglednost teh postopkov, torej postopka glasovanja, ampak jaz vidim težavo v tem in to rad ponovim, ko me kdo vpraša. Mogoče najprej ena težava ali pa pogled na to. Da niso volitve nekaj lepega. Greš tisto nedeljo na volišče, odvržeš glasovnico. Mi bomo z glasovanjem s kavča ali pa z WC-ja izgubili zavedanje o pomenu samih volitev. Drug vidik tega je, volišče je v zvezi z volitvami pravzaprav edini prostor, ki volivcu omogoča neko tajnost glasovanja. Volivec, tudi če je svojemu partnerju ali partnerici rekel, da bo glasoval za enega, bo tam lahko glasoval za drugega. Ko bomo prišli enkrat na e-glasovanje, pa bo to na telefonu, ne samo, da bosta skupaj glasovala, pa bo še oni pogledal, če je prav glasoval. Mi bomo lahko priča nekemu kampanjskemu glasovanju, da bo nekdo organizator nečesa, lahko bo to politična stranka, lahko bo to neka firma, da bo zbrala delavce, pa rekla, zdaj bomo pa skupaj glasovali. Ali so to še te volitve, ki rezultirajo ali pa ki generirajo nek izkaz volje ljudstva? Nisem prepričan. In na drugi strani, kar se tiče same tehnike. Danes marsikdo reče, saj banke tudi milijone nakazujejo elektronsko. Že, samo pri banki veš, kdo je nakazal, kakšen znesek in na koncu primerjaš, kdo je dobil in ali je ta znesek pravi. Pri volitvah pa ti ne smeš registrirati, kakšen je ta znesek, če to prevedem, koga je on izbral. Mi seveda vemo. Vpisali smo ga v volilni imenik, da je on prišel. Ne smeš pa registrirati njegovega glasu. To je naša ustavna ureditev. Če bomo to sprejeli, če bomo to spremenili in rekli, da lahko to zabeležimo nekje v informacijskem sistemu, skrito, dostop ima v teh pogojih samo nekdo, potem lahko varno izpeljemo tudi državnozborske volitve oziroma katerekoli volitve, katerakoli glasovanja. Ampak dokler pa družbeni konsenz tega ne dopušča in želimo, da je vsak rez anonimen, da tisto obkroži, zloži glasovnico in jo vrže noter, pa verjamem, da ta sistem, kjer še vedno lahko primeš glasovnico, prešteješ, uživa bistveno večje zaupanje kot nek elektronski signal v nekem čipu v neki napravi.

Prej ste omenili, da imamo nekaj manj kot 3000 volišč. Sem si zapomnila?

Rednih volišč. Tako. Potem imamo še volišča omnia, ki jih je 88. Nekatera so tudi združena, torej v vsakem volilnem okraju, in imamo volišča za predčasno glasovanje, teh je približno 90, pa seveda še volišča v tujini na diplomatsko konzularnih predstavništvih.

Meni kot državljanki se to zdi kar velika številka, kljub temu pa so očitki, da zmanjšujete število volišč.

Število volišč se je v preteklosti res zmanjšalo. Kar se tiče nekega kratkega obdobja, lahko ugotovim, da na teh volitvah bo volišč več kot na preteklem referendumu. Ta trend se je nekako ustavil. Zakaj je prišlo do tega trenda upadanja volišč? Na eni strani zaradi odločbe ustavnega sodišča, ki je dalo jasno navodilo s svojo odločbo, da mora biti vsako volišče dostopno invalidom. Volišča so bila pa v raznih objektih in ni bilo možno niti z invalidskim vozičkom priti noter in podobno. In teh zadev ni mogoče rešiti na način, da bi pa še eno posebno volišče naredili za invalide, ker to bi bila svojevrstna segregacija. Volišča morajo imeti neke standarde. To je prva stvar. Zaradi tega je bilo ukinjenih cirka 400 volišč od leta 2011 naprej. Tudi sam dostikrat uporabim ta napačen izraz, volišča niso določena, pa se ukinjajo. Volišča se za vsako glasovanje, za vsake volitve, referendum določa na novo. Pač, zmanjšalo se je število volišč. Na drugi strani pa imamo volišča, ki so tudi v zasebnih objektih, pa je nekdo umrl, ki je bil lastnik neke stavbe, pa dediči niso želeli več imeti volišča in podobno. In ne nazadnje, kar se tiče primerjave volišč v desetih, 20, 30 letih, moramo upoštevati tudi to, da se poselitev prebivalstva pa Sloveniji zmanjšuje, da so nekatera urbana središča bolj zgoščena in je možno te ljudi na volitvah servisirati z manjšim številom volišč, ki imajo pač več volivcev na volišče in da so tudi ljudje bolj mobilni dandanes. 3000 volišč pravzaprav mislim da, če imamo občutek, da ima trgovec veliko trgovin, pa da jih vidimo na vsakem vogalu, pa jih nima verjetno noben več kot 50. Nekdo mi je dal eno zanimivo primerjavo. Slovenci imamo cerkvico na vsakem hribčku, pa je rekel, pa cerkva in kapelic ni toliko, kakor je volišč, ali pa jih je približno toliko. Pa vemo, da so zaprte. Zanimiva primerjava. Skratka, če se primerjamo z drugimi državami, ker mislim, da je tudi relevantno, ker se govori o neki dostopnosti, potem pa lahko ugotovim, da smo začeli pridobivati te podatke in da še nismo našli države, ki bi imela več volišč na volivce, kot jih imamo mi. In zdaj nekdo bo rekel tu. Ja, saj jih imamo, ampak samo v mestih. To ne drži. Ta naša mreža je zelo razvejana. Je pa res, da zakon ne določa, saj tudi v drugih državah ne, koliko pa naj bo oddaljeno volišče od ene hiše. Na drugi strani pa tudi OVSE, ki pride letos na opazovanje volitev je opozoril, da so nekatera volišča premajhna, da imajo 50 volivcev. In če je udeležba 50-odstotna, jih pride 25 glasovat, pa na referendumih je ponavadi še manjša. In ko volilni odbor tisto skrinjico odpre, točno lahko vidi po vrstnem redu, kdo je prišel, kdo je kako glasoval. Tako da premajhna volišča pa prav tako ne zagotavljajo tistih standardov anonimnosti oziroma tajnosti glasovanja. Tako da če mogoče sklepno zaključim, mislim, da je to število volišč, ki jih imamo ta trenutek, bolj ali manj ustrezno, tudi če je relativno veliko število. To nam omogoča, da relativno hitro preštejemo glasove. Imeli smo izkušnjo na primer leta 2024, ko je bilo pet volitev, tako mi rečemo, čeprav so bile ene volitve pa trije referendumi s štirimi glasovanji. Ampak bilo je pet glasovnic, pa so potem sploh nekatere medijske hiše neučakano čakale, kdaj bodo tisti rezultati. Mi v Republiki Sloveniji tudi zaradi tega, ker imamo dosti volišč, preštejemo te izide hitro. Če je do polnoči, to je izredno hitro. V nekaterih državah štejejo po par dni oziroma štejejo glasovnice in ugotavljajo volilne izide. Vseeno upam, da bo letos drugače, kot je bilo 2024, in da si bodo mediji vendarle zagotovili vzporedne volitve, zato da bodo lahko takoj ob zaprtju volišč volivcem poročali in napovedali potem izid.

Kljub temu da imamo veliko število volišč, pa se vsake štiri leta ali če so volitve prej, borimo z volilno udeležbo. Zdaj imamo tukaj pripravljene malce statistike. Leta 1996 je presegla 73 odstotkov in leta 2022, torej zadnje državnozborske, je bila skoraj 71-odstotna. Drugače pa smo imeli celo na enih evropskih volitvah leta 2009 zgolj 28-odstotno volilno udeležbo. In eden od teh tujih narativov, ki želi zmanjšati zaupanje v našo demokracijo, pa je, vaš glas nič ne šteje, ni vam treba hoditi na volišča. Kako si lahko prizadevamo, da bi čim več volivcev sploh odšlo na ta praznik demokracije? In kot ste prej omenili, da grejo fizično tja, da je to poseben dan, za katerega so se tisočletja borile generacije.

Ljudi je treba predvsem spodbujati, da hodijo na volitve. Absolutno ne drži teza, da njihov glas ne šteje. Še kako šteje. Namreč. Vedeti moramo, da volitve so v svoji osnovi nek boj za oblast in nekateri želijo priti na oblast tudi z bližnjicami. Tisti postopek, ki se je v zgodovini izkazal za najbolj sprejemljivega, so pa volitve, ki so seštevek glasov vseh, ki sodelujejo. Dostikrat slišimo kritike na račun politike, oblasti, opozicije, kogarkoli že, s strani tistih, ki sploh ne hodijo na volitve. Če ne drugega, naj gre vsak na volitve vsaj zato, da bo lahko potem utemeljeno kritiziral, karkoli že bo. Mi bomo na Državni volilni komisiji vse zagotovili, da bodo volitve poštene, ne obljubljamo pa nobenemu dobrega volilnega rezultata in volivcem ne moremo napovedati, kakšen bo na koncu izid. Pomembno je, da pri tako relevantnih stvareh, ki so, saj verjetno bomo za vsake volitve rekli, da zdaj je pa res nekaj posebnega, da so časi čisto drugačni, ker časi se dejansko spreminjajo, ampak pomembno je, da tisti, ki bo na koncu odločal v našem imenu, v našem pooblastilu, ki mu ga bomo podelili na volitvah, da uživa čim večjo legitimnost, da ga ne bodo drugi spodkopavali. Lahko so to domači, še bolj verjetno v današnjem času pa tuji. Naj uživa to legitimnost in samo tako bomo lahko na nek preverjen, transparenten način prišli do rešitev, za katere bomo kot skupnost zavzeli stališče, da vodijo k neki blaginji. Vse ostalo pa tako, kot sem rekel. Nisem pristaš tega, kar imajo nekatere države, da volivce kaznujejo, če ne pridejo glasovat.

Torej ne bi tega uzakonili, da so obvezne?

Nisem povsem prepričan. Dobro, jaz sem v osnovi tako ali tako bolj liberalnih pogledov in pravim, naj vsak izkoristi to, kar ima na voljo. Ampak vendarle, neka spodbuda pa mora biti. Poglejte, če imajo ljudje čas nekateri viseti na družbenih omrežjih, pa ni vrag, da ne bi šli v nedeljo oddat svojega glasu.

Mi imamo v bistvu generacije, ki volijo, so se že rodile v samostojni Republiki Sloveniji. Pogosto za mlade govorijo, da se tudi ne udeležujejo volitev. Kaj bi jim sporočili? Zakaj je vredno, da se jih udeležijo?

Čeprav v osnovi kritiziram spletna družbena omrežja, pa se tej realnosti ne bomo mogli povsem izogniti, razen če jih bomo kdaj prepovedali, kot berem, da to delajo v nekaterih državah oziroma mladim omejujejo dostop do njih. Ampak kaj pomeni, da se bomo morali prilagoditi? Dejstvo je, da jih bomo morali mogoče nagovarjati tudi na ta način, se pravi na nek priljuden. Kakšen je to? To so tisti, ki jim danes pravimo influencerji, najbolj vešči, na kakšen način do čim večjega števila mladih, da se njihova objava deli naprej, da ima velik doseg, ampak vsekakor je vredno poskusiti tudi na ta način. Na vaši spletni strani imate objavljene odgovore na najpogostejša vprašanja, ki zanimajo državljane, pripravili ste prek 50 pojasnil. Kaj jih najbolj zanima v zvezi z volitvami?

V tem trenutku, glede na naš rokovnik in na tek rokov, ki so vezani na te volitve, je morda še največ vprašanj povezanih z glasovanjem v tujini. Sprašujejo nas namreč volivci, ki bodo na dan volitev, pa tudi v tednu, ko bo potekalo predčasno glasovanje, nekje v tujini in se glasovanja ne bodo mogli udeležiti, Kaj lahko naredijo. Kar se tiče izbire drugega načina glasovanja po pošti iz tujine, volivci so kar dobro seznanjeni s tem, ampak dejstvo pa je, da nekateri odhajajo tudi v države, ki so morda nekoliko težje dostopne za pošto, in se jim tu poraja vprašanje, kako bodo prišli do glasovanja. In mogoče je to tudi mesto, da pojasnim te stvari. Kar se tiče izbire drugega načina glasovanja. To je postopek, ki se opravi prek vloge na portalu e-uprava. In tam lahko volivec reče: Ne bom glasoval v Sloveniji. Ne bo me na predčasno glasovanje in tudi me ne bo 22.3., v nedeljo, in si izbere, ker bo v tujini. Če je v Sloveniji, lahko glasuje v drugem kraju v Sloveniji, ampak govorim o tujini. Ker bo v tujini, bo lahko glasoval po pošti iz tujine. Ko on to vlogo odda, Državna volilna komisija to zadevo obdela in mu pošlje volilno gradivo na naslov, ki ga je sporočil. Zdaj pa, ko ste vprašali, kakšna vprašanja dobimo. Dobimo vprašanje na primer volivca, ki nam pove, da ne ve, kje bo v tujini, da bo potoval sem in tja. Mi takšnemu volivcu volilnega gradiva, če nam ne pove, kam naj ga pošljemo, ne moremo poslati.

Logično.

Takšen volivec ne bo glasoval. On lahko navede hotel, ampak nekaj se mora zavedati. Če navede hotel v recimo, da v Arabskih emiratih, on mora biti takrat, ko bo ta pošta prišla, tam, mora biti dosegljiv za poštarja. V nekaterih državah, pa ne govorim zdaj o tako oddaljenih. Tudi v kakšni Nemčiji so poštarji zelo striktni. Če potrkajo na tisti naslov, te ni dvakrat, zadevo vrnejo in se kar nekaj pošiljk včasih tudi vrne zaradi tega, ker ne najdejo teh naslovnikov v tujini. Pa še eno stvar bi opozoril. Ko volivec enkrat odda to vlogo, si ne more več premisliti. Njegova glasovnica je že na poti tisti trenutek, ko jo je oddal, ker ti postopki grejo zelo hitro, ponavadi v istem dnevu, in je zadeva končana. Mi to opozorilo tudi pogosto navajamo v teh odgovorih na vprašanja in na naši spletni strani. Skratka, tu naj vsak volivec res dobro premisli, da ne bo prišlo na koncu, da mu bo to potovanje odpadlo, pa bo v Sloveniji pa v Sloveniji ne bo več mogel glasovati. Redno glasovanje v Sloveniji je tisto, ki je najbolj varna varianta za vsakega. Vsa pošta in podobno je poskus približevanja volivcem. Zadeve v principu načeloma dobro tečejo. Morda še to izpostavim. To gradivo gre na pošto, ampak od takrat dalje, ko gre na pošto, pa naj gre ali za slovensko pošto ali pa za tujo pošto v Avstraliji, kjerkoli na svetu. Mi pošiljamo na različne kontinente. Za poštne storitve Državna volilna komisija ne odgovarja. Tu je vsak volivec podvržen tem tveganjem, ali pošta dobro opravlja storitve. In ne samo, ko govorimo o tem, da on to volilno gradivo prejme, on ga mora tudi pravočasno poslati nazaj in mora pravočasno priti nazaj to volilno gradivo. Tako da tu je nekaj tveganj, ampak če res volivec ve in je prepričan, da ga ne bo v Sloveniji, ga ne odvračam od tega, naj želi glasovati. Jaz mislim, da je vredno poskusiti, ker nenazadnje velika večina te pošte pride pravočasno in v namembni kraj in se potem tudi pravočasno vrne.

Za konec, če povzameva, naj volivke in volivci spremljajo vaše uradne vire, torej dvk-rs.si.

Tako je.

Tudi na gov.si bodo verodostojne informacije.

Pa še na en naslov bi opozoril, ki je ločen. Volitve.dvk-rs.si. Na tem naslovu bodo objavljene tako kandidatne liste kot potem na dan volitev oziroma po zaprtju volišč se bodo tam osveževali podatki iz posameznih volilnih okrajev oziroma s posameznih volišč.

Naj zaupajo v našo demokracijo, naše volilne postopke in kaj? Se v čim večji meri udeležijo volitev 22. marca.

Tako je. Vabimo vse volivke in volivce na volitve.

Hvala, gospod Zorčič, da ste bili z nami in nam pojasnili, kako delujejo volitve in vsi ti postopki, da pride do volitev v Sloveniji.

Hvala za povabilo.

S tem smo zaključili današnji podkast. Nasvidenje.

[ENGLISH VERSION]

Trust in electoral processes ensures trust in election results, which in turn ensures the legitimacy of government. In principle, I'm in favor of any kind of digitalization. However, we need to realize that it has its downsides. This is a challenge not just for this election but for the coming decade.

GovSi, the Government's Podcast

Hello, dear viewers and listeners. Welcome to the 36th edition of GovSi, the podcast prepared by the Government Information Office. I'm Petra Bezjak Cirman. Today, we'll discuss elections and electoral processes ahead of the March 22 election. Trust in democratic institutions and processes is the foundation of any stable democracy, even when some don't like the results. That's why trust matters so much. One of the key institutions in charge of the election is the State Election Commission, headed by our guest Igor Zorčič. Hello.

Hello.

Let's focus on trust. Abraham Lincoln once said: "The ballot is stronger than the bullet," and added that this is true if people trust the vote count. Why is trust in the electoral process so important?

It's important because trust in the electoral process ensures trust in election results, which in turn results the legitimacy of government. That's why the work of electoral authorities is so important. Perhaps that's more true than ever. In many countries, we see national election authorities become the targets of unjustified criticism to destroy trust in election authorities and ultimately in the election result and the elected government, either from the previous election or the current one. Sometimes, this is done in advance.

What is the role of the State Election Commission in maintaining this trust?

The role of the commission is to watch over the election process. The law that defines how elections are carried out is fairly detailed, but the State Election Commission must ensure additional rules that are not defined by law so the process is predictable, transparent, and trustworthy, while setting procedures to ensure that the result, the total of all votes, is fair and transparent.

The election process is probably at full steam. What are you working on?

Our work on the election that will take place on March 22 began on January 12. We had begun to prepare even earlier, but our work was interrupted by a referendum. Nevertheless, we were well prepared for January 12, and I hope all our preparatory work ahead of March 22 will proceed as planned. First, we examined whether there were any issues with the previous election and what we could improve without changing the legislation. That is the responsibility of the legislative branch. We considered the fastest way to improve things and prevent second thoughts about or criticism of some things, as was the case during the last election. This was the first phase, which began after last May's referendum. We were going from one referendum to another. That's when we got a framework for what we needed to do. Then, as we approached election day as set by the President, we got into the details, such as preparing drafts of rules. I should explain that the State Election Commission consists of the Office of the State Election Commission, which I head, and the commission itself, which consists of members named by the National Assembly. The office prepares the documentation that is then approved at the meeting of the commission, where I don't vote. During this period, we prepared the documentation necessary for the election to be carried out in detail. The documentation is then published on our website.

How many people do you need to carry out an election?

We need approximately 20,000 people. This is the largest civilian undertaking in Slovenia. Without these 20,000 people, not even volunteers from the police and the armed forces wouldn't be enough. Of these, 19,000 people are members of committees, who work at polling sites. There are about 3000 polling sites. This year, we expect 2987 of them. Six people work at each polling site, three per shift. All six then come together and count the votes. Then we have electoral ward committees and constituency committees. The State Electoral Commission, if I don't count committee members, consists of 19,000 plus 1000 people.

If there are any irregularities, and that probably does happen, how do you respond?

That can happen. With so much work and so many people involved in the election process, mistakes can happen. What matters for trust in the election process and the result of the election is that the rules that define electoral processes all the way to the final result include safeguards if something happens. There are several legal mechanisms. We hope they won't be used. They include complaints against electoral bodies or the determination of results. There can be complaints about election committees at polling sites or about the work or electoral ward committees, constituency committees, and so on. We don't like to see such complaints. We do our best to avoid them by making procedures as clear as possible and that we help people who turn to us by explaining what happened and demanding an explanation from electoral ward committees. This is one of the assurances that the procedures are being followed and that any mistakes are corrected. I would like to add that during an election, given the large number of people in the process, the best guarantor of good work that enjoys the voters' trust is the plural composition of electoral bodies. What does that mean? It means that the 20,000 people in electoral bodies consist of people nominated by various political parties and local communities, which ensures mutual oversight when they work together.

Can someone show up at a polling place and say they want to observe the vote count?

They can't just sign up. Anyone who wants to be an election observer must follow the rules. An organization must be accredited for that. After all, we need peace and quiet at polling sites. People can't just turn up without authorization of an electoral ward committee or the State Election Commission and claim to be an observer. Anyone who wished to be an observer is allowed to become one by law, but he or she must fulfill legal criteria and file a request. Observers from electoral lists are nominated by the electoral lists. There are quite a few of those at polling places. They have the right to be there during both the voting process and the vote count. There are other organizations that ask for accreditation. They can sign up according to the rules that will soon be published on our website and receive their accreditation

Do you mean international organizations?

Those too.

Have any signed up?

We expect OSCE to come. They recently announced their decision to observe the election in Slovenia and we welcome that.

I asked you this because there is already an initiative in Slovenia that people should observe the voting process, which would create a feeling that of a lack of trust in the electoral process.

As I said, we don't have any issues with people observing the vote, but this must be done in accordance with the rules defined by law, not on an impromptu basis.

What happens when the ballots reach a polling place? Sometimes people claim that a party is missing from the ballot or that special pens are used to delete marks. We hear such election-related disinformation. Would that be possible? How do things work from the moment the ballots are printed to their arrival at polling sites?

The ballots are made according to a carefully planned layout process, which includes their appearance and the location of security elements, which very few people know. At the State Election Commission, I'm the only one. As for their manufacture, the ballots are printed by a trustworthy contractor, which also distributes the ballots to the electoral bodies, the electoral ward committees, from where they head out to the polling site.

Are these securely guarded procedures? 

This varies by segment. There's less security with widely scattered elements.

We've talked about polling places. How does he ballot get there? Surely there can't be major fraud in that process?

There can't be major fraud. Of course, individual incidents or cases of fraud can always happen, and we've got to be ready for that. Nevertheless, the ballot manufacturing and distribution procedures are largely secured. Based on past practice, I'm not concerned about the ballots not reaching voters in the appropriate manner. Here and there, we get questions about ballots used for early voting, which takes place between Tuesday and Thursday ahead of Election Sunday. In most cases, this question has concerned voting in Ljubljana, which has the biggest early voting site. All 14 electoral wards from the Ljubljana Administrative Unit are concentrated there, and I need to ensure that those ballots are effectively secured. Even bank robberies happen on occasion, so if we had some incident, we'd notice it in time and respond appropriately.

Could we see a scenario similar to what happened in Romania, where the Constitutional Court annulled the election the next day. Could that happen here? This primarily concerns the Internet, which is so accessible and anyone can publish what they like. We don't know whether the posts are written by Slovenian citizens or whether foreign entities want to affect election results with fake news.

I can't say whether that's possible. After all, we've never had such a case, and every such incident sets a new constitutional law precedent. I hope that the entities that would rule on such a matter on a constitutional level would take the matter seriously enough to react in accordance with the facts. I wouldn't want to comment on Romania or Moldova. Every country has its own procedures and its own way of deciding whether a campaign was affected by foreign influence. In any case, I like to say that we first need to ensure that everyone involved in the election process, whether they are candidates, observers, or civil society organizations, act in a fair manner and in line with the purpose of all electoral processes. When something happens, we need to be aware of what is going on abroad. Even though we're a small country, we're still of interest to both regional and global players.

Germany held an election last year. There was a false rumor that one of the parties was missing from the ballot. Of course, that wasn't true, but could something like that happen in Slovenia? Could a party be deleted from the ballot?

No. That can't happen, but there can be disinformation about it. I can only call on your viewers to follow statements from the State Election Commission as reported via the media and published on our website. I should add that our website and our statements to the media will serves as our primary channel of communication. We won't use other social networks. I feel that those social networks have become very different in recent years. These days, the most common tweet is probably "Grok, is this true?" This means that about 70% of information there is untrue. That's my personal estimate. As a state entity, we can't allow ourselves to enter a cycle of mutual score settling, which social media enable, and then make judgments based on algorithms, artificial intelligence, and the like. All information will be made available in person, via representatives of the State Electoral Commission, and on our website. That's where our official statements will be.

You mentioned AI. Deepfakes were seen during the Irish election. As voters, we probably have to prepare for that, people misusing the voice or an image of some politician regardless of political affiliation and using this technology to undermine trust.

That's another phenomenon of social media. On one hand, we wonder whether something is real. People use AI and ask it if something is real. That's becoming bizarre. On the other hand, we see the emergence of AI-generated video clips. They're increasingly difficult to distinguish from real ones. This is a challenge not just for this election, but for the coming decade or century. Slovenia will need to update its legislation to define an institution that will be responsible for this. These days, everyone is involved a bit: the State Election Commission, you guys, the Interior Ministry. Everyone does something, but the challenge and the threat posed by this is so significant that the state will need to address this issue specifically with a team of trained experts.

Speaking of the electronic media, what is your opinion on e-voting? There has been such an initiative in Slovenia.

In principle, I'm in favor of any kind of digitalization. However, we need to realize that it also has its downsides. When it comes to elections and e-voting... Digitalization also includes our other processes, and we've already digitalized some, such as the submission of forms for other voting methods in E-Administration, which is almost entirely electronic these days. But let me return to e-voting. It hasn't yet caught on in many countries. In fact, I think that only in Estonia, and perhaps some other countries practice this for remote polling stations in remote areas. I think France is one such country. Despite the fact that the information technology is at an extremely high level. In a way, it's even possible to ensure the transparency of the voting process. However, I see a problem in this ... I like to repeat this when people ask me. The problem is ... Perhaps, first of all, an opinion. Aren't elections something beautiful? You go to the polling station on Sunday and cast your ballot. By voting from our couches or our toilets, we'll lose this awareness of the importance of elections. There's another aspect to this. The polling station is actually the only place in relation to elections that allows voters to vote in secret. Even if a voter has told their partner that they'll vote for one candidate, they can still vote for another. Once we start e-voting, it will be on our phones. Not only will they vote together and be able to see who they have voted for, we may witness, I don't know, some kind of campaign voting, where someone, an organizer of something, be it a political party or a company, will gather the workers and say, now we are going to vote together. Are these still elections that result in or generate an expression of the will of the people? I'm not so sure. And on the other hand, as far as the technology is concerned. Today, many people say, banks also transfer millions electronically. Sure, but the banks know who transferred what amount, and in the end, they compare who received it and whether the amount is correct. But in elections, you're not allowed to know the amount, to use the same term. Who they have voted for. Sure, we enter their participation in the electoral register, but we're not allowed to register their vote. That's our constitutional arrangement. If we change this and say that we can record this in secret in the information system, which can only be accessed under certain conditions, then we can safely conduct parliamentary elections or any other elections, any voting. But as long as social consensus doesn't allow this and we want every vote to be anonymous, to circle it, fold the ballot paper and put it in the box, I believe that this system, where you can still take the ballot paper and count it, enjoys much greater trust than some electronic signal in some chip in some device.

You said it earlier, I think we have just under 3,000 polling stations. Did I remember correctly?

Regular polling stations. Then we have the omnia polling stations, of which there are 88. Some are also combined, in each electoral district, and we have polling stations for early voting, approximately 90. And polling stations abroad at diplomatic and consular missions.

As a citizen, this seems like a large number to me. Nevertheless, there are accusations that you're reducing the number of polling stations.

The number of polling stations has indeed reduced in the past. As far as this short period is concerned, I can say that there will be more polling stations in these elections than there were in the previous referendum. This trend has somewhat stopped. Why did this trend of reducing polling stations occur? On the one hand, it was due to a decision by the Constitutional Court, which gave clear instructions that every polling station must be accessible to persons with disabilities. Polling stations were located in various buildings, and it wasn't possible to enter them with a wheelchair, and so on. These issues can't be resolved by creating another special polling station for people with disabilities, that would be a form of segregation. Polling stations must meet certain standards. That's the first thing. For this reason, some 400 polling stations have been abolished since 2011. Abolished is an often-used incorrect term, polling stations are not fixed, and then abolished. Polling stations are determined anew for each vote or each election. The number was reduced. On the other hand, we have polling stations that are located in private buildings, where the owner of a building has died and the heirs no longer want to have a polling station, and so on. And last but not least, as far as comparing polling stations in the last 10, 20, 30 years, we must also take into account that the population of Slovenia is declining, some urban centers are more densely populated, and can be serviced with a smaller number of polling stations, which simply have more voters. And that people are also more mobile nowadays. 3,000 polling stations ... We have the impression that a retailer has a lot of stores, and we see them on every corner, but probably no one has more than fifty. Someone gave me an interesting comparison. We Slovenians have a church on every hill, but there aren't as many churches and chapels as there are polling stations, or there are about the same number. And we know that some churches are closed. An interesting comparison. If we compare ourselves to other countries, which is also relevant, since we're talking about accessibility, then ... We have started to collect this data and have not yet found a country that has more polling stations per number of voters than we do. People will say, yes, we do, but only in cities. That's not true. Our network is very extensive. It's true that the law doesn't specify, nor does it in other countries, how far should a polling station be from a house, and on the other hand, OSCE, who will be monitoring this election, has pointed out that some polling stations are too small, they have 50 voters, only 25 of those show up. Voter turnout in referendums is usually even lower. When the electoral committee opens that box, it can see exactly how they voted in order of arrival. So, polling stations that are too small also fail to guarantee the standards of anonymity and secrecy of voting. So, to conclude, I think that the number of polling stations we have at the moment is more or less adequate, even if it is relatively large. This allows us to count the votes relatively quickly. We had an experience in 2024, for example, when there were five elections, so to speak, although there was one election and three referendums with four votes, but there were five ballots. And then some media outlets waited impatiently for the results. In Slovenia, partly because we have a lot of polling stations, we count the results quickly, before midnight is extremely fast. In some countries, they count for a couple of days. Or rather, they count the ballots and determine the election results. I hope that this year will be different from 2024 and that the media will ensure parallel elections so that they can report immediately after the polls close and then predict the results.

Despite having a large number of polling stations, every four years, when elections are held, we struggle with voter turnout. We have some statistics here. In 1996, it exceeded 73%, in 2022, for the last parliamentary elections, it was almost 71%. Otherwise, we even had a turnout of only 28% in the 2009 European elections. One of the foreign narratives that seeks to undermine confidence in our democracy is that your vote doesn't count, you don't need to go to the polls. How can we encourage as many voters as possible to participate in this celebration of democracy? And as you mentioned earlier, to go there in person, because this is a special day that generations have fought for over thousands of years.

People need to be encouraged to vote. The thesis that their vote doesn't count is not true. It is very important. Namely... We have to know that the elections are a power struggle. Some people want to take shortcuts to come to power. The procedure that has through history proved to be the most eligible, are elections. They are a sum of the votes of all participants. We often hear critics on the account of politics or opposition from those who don't vote at all. If nothing else, people should vote to be able to legitimately criticize. At the National Election Committee we will ensure everything that elections will be fair, but we can't promise a good outcome to anybody. And we can't predict the outcome either. It's important that such relevant issues... Every time we'll probably say that the elections are something special and that times are different. Times are changing. It's important that the one that will decide in our name and will get our authorisation in elections, has the highest legitimacy. That nobody can undermine him or her. At home or abroad. The elected person has to have legitimacy. It's the only way to transparently reach the solutions for which the community thinks that will lead us to prosperity. Everything else... As I've said, I don't believe in what some countries have... They punish voters, if they don't vote.

You wouldn't legalise it?

I'm not sure. In principle, I'm more liberal anyway. Everybody should use what they have available. But some sort of encouragement should be there. If some people have time to scroll the social media they should cast their vote on Sunday as well.

Now we have generations that were born in the independent Slovenia. It is said that these young ones don't go to elections either. What would you say to them? Why it's worth to vote?

Even though, in principle I criticize social media or social networks, but we can't avoid this reality. Unless we ban them, as I'm reading it's done in some countries or they limit the access to young people. But we'll have to adapt and maybe address them this way. In some social... How? The so-called influencers know this better. How do you reach the most young people? How to forward a certain post that it reaches a lot of people? It is certainly worth it to try this way, too.

On your web page are answers to the most frequently asked questions that our citizens are interested in. More than 50 answers. What they are most interested in?

Given our schedule and the deadlines that are tied to these elections, the most questions are related to voting from abroad. Voters who will be abroad on election day as well as during the week when early voting will take place and will therefore not be able to attend in person are contacting us. What can they do? As far as choosing another method of voting by mail from abroad is concerned, voters are fairly well informed about this, but the fact is that some of them are travelling to countries that may be somewhat more difficult to access by postal services, and this raises the question of how they can vote. Perhaps this is a good opportunity to clarify these matters. Regarding the choice of an alternative voting method. This is a procedure completed by submitting an application through the e-Uprava portal. There, a voter can state: "I will not be voting in Slovenia." I will not be attending early voting, and I won't be present on March 22nd, and I choose this option because I will be abroad. They can easily vote in another location within Slovenia but I am speaking about those abroad. If they are abroad, they can vote by mail from abroad. Once they submit this application. The National Election Commission processes the request and sends the voting materials to the address the voter provided. Since you asked what kind of questions we receive... We sometimes get a question from a voter who tells us they do not know where they will be abroad. We cannot send the voting material to such voter. Such a voter...

Logically.

Will not be able to vote. They may provide a hotel address, but they must understand something. If they provide, for example, a hotel in the United Arab Emirates, they must be present and reachable there when the mail arrives. In some countries - not necessarily far away - even in Germany, postal workers are very strict. If they knock at the address and you are not there twice, they return it. Quite a few shipments are returned, as the addressees can't be found. I would also like to point out one more thing. Once a voter submits the application, they can't change their mind, because their ballot is on its way at that very moment. These procedures move very quickly, usually on the same day, and the matter is completed. We often include this warning in our responses to questions and on our website. In short, every voter should think carefully so that it does not happen that their trip is cancelled, they end up being in Slovenia, but can no longer vote there. Regular voting in Slovenia is the safest option for everyone. Postal voting is an effort to bring voting closer to voters. Things are generally running smoothly. Let me highlight one more thing. The voting materials are handed over to the post, but from the moment they are handed over, whether in Slovenia or to a foreign postal service in Australia or anywhere else, our Commission is no longer responsible for postal services. Voter is subject to the risks related to the postal service performance. And it’s not only about receiving the voting materials, the voter must also send them back in time and they must arrive back on time as well. So, there is a certain level of risk involved, however, if a voter truly knows that they will not be in Slovenia that should not discourage them from voting. I believe it is worth trying, because the vast majority of these mailings do arrive on time and are also returned on time.

To conclude, voters should follow your official sources namely dvk-rs.si and also gov.si where the reliable information is.

And I would also like to point out another separate address: volitve.dvk-rs.si. At this address, candidate lists will be published, and on election day or after the polling stations close, the data from electoral districts and polling stations will be updated there.

Voters should trust in our democracy and our electoral procedures and participate in the elections in as great a number as possible.

We invite all voters to take part in the elections.

Thank you, Mr. Zorčič, for being with us and explaining how the elections and all these procedures work in Slovenia.

Thank you for the invitation.

With that, we conclude today’s podcast. Goodbye.