New police corps president appointed

Despite following new rules, the non-governmental organisations and opposition were critical of the process.

Milan Lučanský will become the new police corps president.Milan Lučanský will become the new police corps president. (Source: SME)

Acting Police Corps President Milan Lučanský will stay in his post for the next four years. Interior Minister Denisa Saková appointed him to the post on April 15.

“The main reason was the outcome of the vote of the parliamentary defence and security committee last week: seven members voted for Milan Lučanský, with no member voting against his appointment,” explained Saková, as quoted by the Sme daily.

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Read also: Police to analyse phone calls between Vadala and Trošková Read more 

The committee recommended two candidates for the post. Apart from Lučanský, incumbent police attaché in Prague Ivan Sečík was also on the shortlist.

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The final decision was made by Saková, Sme wrote.

Promise to improve the image of police

The vote followed new rules for electing the new police corps president for the first time. It took place after thousands of people attending the For a Decent Slovakia protest gatherings called for the replacement of then-police corps president Tibor Gašpar and an open selection procedure.

Read also: Interior Ministry identifies candidates running for police corps president Read more 

Lučanský is perceived positively by the public, mostly due to the progress in the investigation of the murder of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová. He has promised that as the new police corps president, he will toughen up individual screenings and will introduce electronic service cards for police officers to control them more efficiently. He has also promised to reorganise police units, particularly the National Criminal Agency (NAKA), Sme wrote.

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Furthermore, he plans to improve the image of the police.

“I’ll continue in my work so that the trust in the police will increase,” Lučanský said, as quoted by Sme.

The result was expected

Despite changes in the rules for the selection of the new police head, several experts and non-governmental organisations pointed to the fact that the choice had already been made.

“If we had a guarantee that the next election will be independent, I would propose to cancel the current one and declare a new one,” said Zuzana Petková, head of the Stop Corruption Foundation, as quoted by Sme.

Read also: Lučanský will replace Gašpar in top police post Read more 

Opposition shared this opinion. Gábor Grendel, MP for the Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OĽaNO) movement, did not vote during the hearing of candidates and was critical of Lučanský’s appointment.

“The candidates were first selected by the commission in which a majority of members are the ruling coalition’s nominees,” said Grendel, as quoted by Sme. “They were later selected by the members of the parliamentary committee in which the ruling coalition once again holds a majority. And finally, the minister has been pretending that she has been thinking about the new police corps president for a few days.”

Veronika Remišová of OĽaNO also called the selection procedure a farce.

Saková, on the other hand, was satisfied and said it was meaningful, Sme wrote.

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