The head of state announced on Monday that he would not allow a referendum on the issue of the term of office of parliament, despite the fact that the non-parliamentary Democrat party collected 368,000 in a petition. signatures. The constitution requires a minimum of 350,000. signatures of citizens so that the president could call a referendum.
The President of Slovakia rejected the question about the term of office
Pellegrini, however, decided that such a question would be unconstitutional and could not be included in the referendum. — Allowing such a possibility would mean a one-time violation of the constitution – said the president.
He recalled that the Slovak Constitutional Tribunal had already resolved a similar case in the past. He stated that he did not consider it necessary to appeal to the Constitutional Tribunal again. He also added that a referendum cannot oblige MPs to shorten their term of office on their own.
The Democrats' petition was called “Enough Ficy”referring to Prime Minister Robert Fico. The authors demanded the possibility of shortening the term of office of parliament against the will of the majority of deputies. In the 150-seat parliament, the ruling coalition currently has enough votes to block the opposition's motions to dissolve the chamber itself. The solution was to be a referendum question, which would allow citizens to decide on early elections.
The media pointed out that the current situation is different from the one in 2023, when the parliament voted to shorten its term of office. The then coalition first changed the constitution, which did not include any provision for self-dissolutionand later decided on new, early elections. This time, the ruling majority does not agree to such a solution.
Democrats and other opposition parties with representation in the National Council criticized Pellegrini's decision regarding the term of office of parliament. They considered it a support for Robert Fico's government. Two questions remain from the original petition, which Slovaks will decide on July 4. They concern the life pension granted, among others, to the current Prime Minister Fico by the current government coalition, as well as the restoration of elite prosecutorial and police units that the government disbanded.
The constitution states that the results of the referendum are valid if more than half of those entitled to vote take part in it and the decision is made by a majority of votes.
