BRATISLAVA, September 19, (WEBNOVINY) – According to Speaker of Parliament and SaS leader Richard Sulik, Saturday’s plebiscite showed that citizens do not let themselves be manipulated by politicians and are prepared to take decisions about themselves, even against the will of politicians. Nearly one million of the electorate participated in the referendum, which is almost 23 percent of all eligible voters. “That confirms that the referendum was not a merely partisan activity,” stated Sulik, whose party garnered the support of approximately 300,000 people in the June parliamentary elections. He hopes that although the referendum is not valid, its results will be binding for politicians.
Sulik again criticized the anti-campaign of the largest opposition party the SMER-SD, which called on its supporters to ignore the plebiscite. He appreciated the fact that Prime Minister Iveta Radicova and President Gasparovic cast their ballots, while putting struggles between parties aside and accepting the referendum as an instrument of direct democracy for all citizens.
SaS initiated the referendum at the beginning of this year, while 400,000 people signed the petition for the referendum. The party leader asked President Gasparovic to announce the referendum for the day of the parliamentary elections (June 12) or for the day of regional elections, which will be held in the fall, in order to reduce its costs and secure the required turnout. The president did not comply with his request and set the date for the referendum for September 18. Slovakia’s citizens were asked to answer questions regarding the cancellation of concessionaire fees paid to public service media, restriction of deputy immunity from prosecution, introduction of a cap on government limousines of EUR 40,000, introduction of on-line voting, a change to the Election Act to downsize the number of members of parliament from 150 to 100 as of the next election term and adoption of a law to exclude persons exercising executive power in the government from the right of reply according to the Press Act. The plebiscite would be valid if more than a half of all registered eligible voters participated in it.
President Gasparovic eventually did vote in Saturday’s referendum, despite his initial ambiguous statements. Nevertheless, he stated on Sunday that the referendum was pointless, and schools could have been built for the seven million euros that it cost. He further said at a briefing at the Bratislava airport before leaving for Iceland, that there are no results, and what the referendum contained in the questions can be open without problems at a parliamentary session.
SITA
