Slovenia's president, Borut Pahor, said today that the nation will hold early legislative elections on April 24.

According to the Slovenian news agency STA, Pahor made the decision after consulting with leaders of parliamentary factions in the National Assembly (parliament), where Prime Minister Janez Jansa's conservative Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) rules.

According to the most recent surveys, Jansa's SDS is the likely party with the most votes, while a close battle with the Social Democrats is predicted.

Slovenians will elect 90 MPs for a four-year term, 88 of whom will be elected by proportional representation, with the remaining two seats going to the country's Italian and Hungarian minorities.

The president said that once the results are in, he will give the order to form a government to the candidate who enjoys the necessary support, that is, 46 votes or more from the elected legislators.