Future votes by MPs to select Slovakia’s general prosecutor will be public (i.e. recorded) instead of the current practice of secret votes, after parliament on Tuesday, May 17, approved the relevant amendment to the Rules of Procedure.
With 79 votes in favour of the bill, the governing coalition overrode President Ivan Gašparovič's veto to the original bill. Among other issues, Gašparovič asserted that changing the form of vote shortly before the vote itself was not appropriate or democratic. "Because of this, I continue to maintain my opinion that the vote should remain secret, as stated in the valid and effective piece of legislation," he said, as quoted by the TASR newswire.
However, the chairman of parliament’s constitutional committee, Radoslav Procházka (Christian Democratic Movement (KDH)), stressed that the amendment does not change the rules during the vote but rather with respect to the future. "I don't understand the criterion of shortly or not shortly before the vote. There is no such thing in law."
Source: TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
18. May 2011 at 10:00
