Stanislav Mičev (source: SME)
Joint action and cooperation before the regional elections was one of the topics discussed by the candidates for the post of Banská Bystrica Region’s governor on May 15. One of them, head of the local SNP Museum, Stanislav Mičev, stressed the need for agreement among the candidates who have in their hands the responsibility for the future of politics and democracy in Slovakia.
“If we stop Marian Kotleba here, where we created him, we will also stop him in the whole of Slovakia,” Mičev said, as quoted in a press release, referring to the current governor who also leads the far-right People’s Party – Our Slovakia (ĽSNS).
The discussion was also attended by Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák and the Governor of the Bratislava Region, Pavol Frešo.
Meanwhile, Mičev informed the audience about a memorandum in which the democratic candidates would declare their will to join forces at the end of the campaign. If one of the candidates for the post gets a significant lead in the September polls, the other candidates would support him and would act jointly in their campaigns until the elections.
The memorandum is a breakthrough document in the Slovak election scene, according to Mičev. The main objective of the memorandum is to stop extremism.
“We are fully aware of the current state in society in which extremist forces are growing and there is a risk of irreversible changes to the political and social orientation of Slovakia,” Mičev said, as quoted in the press release. “We cannot agree with the denial of fundamental human rights and democratic principles.”
The document will become the subject of discussions among the candidates for the post of Banská Bystrica Region’s governor who have already announced their candidacy. It is still an open document on which they can comment and make changes.
Mičev proposes to sign the document, which can be found on the internet, on May 20, 2017, on the eve of the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development.
