Since Slovakia's transition from authoritarian rule to democracy and the rule of law in 1992, the Slovak people are empowered to participate in the decision-making of the state by means of the popular initiative and the referendum. Although seven referendums have been held in the Slovak Republic so far, only one was considered valid. This paper aims to illustrate the reasons for this scarce success of popular votes and gives a brief insight into the significance of direct democracy in the Slovak Republic. To this purpose, it will set out the instruments of direct democracy provided in Slovakia and the experiences made therewith.