Zoran Janković says he is running for mayor of Ljubljana for the last time. The incumbent told Delo on 7 November that, if re-elected, he would serve one final term. He expects to win outright on 15 November, but the latest published poll puts him just 1.8 points ahead of Luka Mesec in a hypothetical runoff. Delo interview
Janković cited Ljubljana’s Supermesto 2045 development plan as a reason for running again. In an earlier interview with Dnevnik, he said he wanted to lay the groundwork for the plan and give a potential future candidate from among his deputy mayors a more visible role. Dnevnik interview
The poll gives Janković a clear first-round lead and a narrow runoff edge
Ninamedia surveyed 691 Ljubljana residents by phone and online from 12 to 14 October for Dnevnik. In the first-round question, Janković led with 34.6%, followed by Levica’s Luka Mesec on 21.0% and former prime minister Anton Rop on 8.2%. Social Democrat Marko Koprivc announced his candidacy too late to be included in that question.
In a head-to-head runoff, Janković had 35.2% and Mesec 33.4%. Another 23.6% said they would vote for neither. The gap shrank from 13.6 points in the first-round question to 1.8 points in the runoff, where turnout and the choices of voters who backed other candidates could decide the race. Ninamedia poll for Dnevnik
Polymarket puts Janković’s chance of winning at 57%
On 7 November, Polymarket showed a 57% implied chance of victory for Janković and 41% for Mesec, with about $253,000 in total trading volume. The poll measures voter preference, including in a specific runoff matchup. The market prices who will win the election overall, whether in the first round or a runoff. Polymarket election market
Koper and Maribor
In Koper, Mediana’s poll for OBALAplus put incumbent Aleš Bržan at 35.6%, ahead of Nik Popovič at 16.4% and Mateja Hrvatin Kozlovič at 14.1%. In Maribor, Mediana’s poll for Večer put Bor Greiner at 39.1% among decided respondents, followed by Matevž Frangež at 25.4% and Katja Koren at 16.0%.
Follow all three mayoral races on Votendi’s Slovenia local elections tracker.
