Slovakia seeks early elections: What is known
Photo: Robert Fico, Prime Minister of Slovakia (Getty Images)
In Slovakia, the non-parliamentary party Democrats has collected the required 350,000 signatures to hold a referendum on early elections and the resignation of Robert Fico’s government, this was announced by the party’s leader, Jaroslav Naď, according to Pravda.
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The signature collection has been ongoing since September 2024. In addition to holding early elections, the referendum organizers are putting forward a number of demands:
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The restoration of the Special Prosecutor’s Office and the National Criminal Agency;
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The abolition of a lifetime pension for incumbent Prime Minister Robert Fico.
"This is a legitimate instrument of democracy. 350,000 citizens have sent the government a clear political signal that cannot be ignored. People are disappointed, angry, and tired of lies and chaos," Naď stressed.
By the end of February, the party plans to collect several thousand more signatures "as a reserve," after which they will officially submit them to President Peter Pellegrini.
"People are fed up with Robert Fico; more than 70 percent of Slovak citizens are extremely dissatisfied with Robert Fico’s government," Naď said.
Deputy party leader Juraj Šeliga expressed hope that the president would not block the process in the Constitutional Court and would heed the will of the citizens.
Protests against Fico
In January last year, mass protests under the slogan "Slovakia is Europe" took place in more than 20 cities across Slovakia.
The rallies were organized by the Peace for Ukraine initiative and opposition parties. The largest demonstrations were recorded in the country’s second-largest city, Košice, where about 15,000 people took to the streets.
Participants protested against the course of Prime Minister Robert Fico’s government after his visit to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
