BRATISLAVA, December 13, (WEBNOVINY) — The plenum of the Slovak Parliament elected Jana Dubovcova to be Slovakia’s next Ombudsman with 76 votes in a public vote on Tuesday. Dubovcova, an MP for the SDKU-DS and a former judge will replace Pavol Kandrac (LS-HZDS nominee), whose mandate ends on March 27, 2012. She was nominated for her new post by three former ruling coalition parties SDKU-DS, SaS, and MOST-HID.
Dubovcova intends to focus chiefly on educating the public and to change the perception of public defender of rights. “I believe Ombudsman should act upon formation of legal awareness in society and deal with solution of many cases of which society should be made aware of,” stated Dubovcova at the session of the Parliamentary Committee for Human Rights and National Minorities on December 6. Dubovcova is convinced that Ombudsman’s doors should be open for anyone. “It is an apolitical function and non-party function,” maintains Dubovcova.
MP Jana Dubovcova will give up her candidacy in March parliamentary election after her election to the post of the public defender of rights. Dubovcova was on the 24th place of the SDKU-DS slate for early elections in March 2012. “I was included on the party’s list just in case, for safety, and thanks to decency of the party. The party knew that when I was added its slate, I gave up the constitutional post of a judge. SDKU-DS was aware of that and expressed its confidence in me,“ she said.
Chairman of the Parliamentary Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee Radoslav Prochazka (KDH) said that Jana Dubovcova has the qualities to be a good Ombudsman. “Her professional experience as a former judge is important in this post and speaks in her favor,” said Prochazka to journalists explaining that substantial part of Ombudsman’s agenda is related to people’s complaints regarding courts’ actions. Ivan Stefanec (SDKU-DS) was also pleased with Dubovcova’s election. “We have managed to elect a very good Ombudsman,” he said.
Parliament was unable to re-elect Zora Dobrikova to the post of deputy chairwoman of the Supreme Audit Office on Tuesday.
SITA