CONDITIONS for the operation of political parties in Slovakia will soon become stricter. The Interior Ministry plans to amend the law on political parties, which has been valid since 1991, and limit party membership fees to Sk80,000 (€1,945).
Currently, there is no official limit on the fees that members can pay to political parties. One-time media tycoon Pavol Rusko took advantage of the law and paid a fee of Sk14.75 million (€358,865) to his rising party, the New Citizens' Alliance (ANO).
Last year, ANO collected Sk37 million (€900,200) in membership fees. Deputy chairman of ANO Ľubomír Lintner assumes that his party will oppose the law. Other parties have expressed no objections to the planned limit on membership fees.
Currently, Slovakia has 117 registered political parties, most of which have not been meeting their legal obligations. The current law allows penalties of only up to Sk100,000 (€2,430) for parties violating the law. The new revision would enable the dissolution of such parties.
6. Oct 2003 at 0:00 | From press reports
