Thousands of Slovenians demand more changes, early vote

Thousands of Slovenians gathered on Saturday in Ljubljana to protest against the country's political elite and demand further changes following the fall of the centre-right government led by Janez Jansa. Some 5,000 demonstrators, according to police, turned out despite heavy rain at the capital's central Kongresni trg square, joining the fourth rally called by a Facebook civil group founded in November to demand the resignation of Jansa. "We demand the resignations of all incapable and corrupted political elite members," the Facebook group with over 18,000 followers said ahead of the rally. It also asked prime minister designate Alenka Bratusek to set a date for early elections as soon as she officially takes over the government. The previous rally held on February 8 that drew some 20,000 protestors was one of the largest anti-government demonstrations in the former Yugoslav state of two million people since it declared independence in 1991.The protesters carried banners such as "We do not want a new government but revolutionary changes" and "There will be no peace until there is justice", as they marched through the centre of the city. During the march, protestors "marked" the central bank building and other public institutions with stickers saying "This is our property". No major incidents were reported during the protest except for a small incendiary device thrown to the central bank building that was extinguished by police. Last month the Slovenian parliament gave Bratusek the mandate to form a new government which would take over from Jansa, accused of corruption by the Balkan country's anti-corruption watchdog. If Bratusek fails to form a new government coalition by Thursday, Slovenia could face early elections for the second time in less than two years.