BRATISLAVA, October 13, (WEBNOVINY) — The Cabinet on Thursday greenlighted a draft constitutional bill to cut short the current electoral term. At their meeting on Wednesday, coalition parties SDKU-DS, KDH and MOST-HID and the opposition SMER-SD agreed to schedule early parliamentary elections for March 2011. The parliament will debate the draft in expedited legislative procedure later on Thursday. Its approval requires at least ninety votes. SMER-SD leader Robert Fico conditioned his party’s support to the enhanced EFSF eurozone bailout fund in the repeated vote by holding early elections. MPs are expected to repeat the vote on Thursday, this time with a positive outcome.
Parliament greenlighted early elections, too, when it approved with 143 votes in the 150-member house a draft constitutional bill on shortening the current election term of the parliament.
The Cabinet Iveta Radicova collapsed on Tuesday night in the coupled bailout and confidence vote. Deputies of the coalition party SaS of Parliament Speaker Richard Sulik abstained from voting. Subsequently, the prime minister appealed on Sulik and his ministers to step down, but they see no point in doing so, as the Cabinet will be recalled anyway after the lost confidence vote.
SITA