SUPREME Court President Štefan Harabin is not likely to give up his candidacy for re-election, based on an interview he gave for the Sme daily on April 29.
The media has been speculating over the possibility that Harabin might step down after Justice Minister Tomáš Borec proposed his candidate, Judge Jana Bajánková, who is reportedly a close collaborator of Harabin. Her candidacy might lower the chances of Harabin being re-elected.
Harabin however argues that he was proposed by 60 out of 80 judges in the Supreme Court, the Judicial Council and the Association of Judges of Slovakia.
“I would be controverting their will. This is my big problem,” Harabin told Sme. Later in the interview he said that it does not matter whether he wins the election or his friend Bajánková does.
“It absolutely does not matter,” Harabin said. “She is a colleague of mine, I work with her daily.”
Harabin, who earlier received a request from the non-governmental political fairness watchdog Fair-Play Alliance to secure a sufficiently big room for the election so that public can attend and the election can be transparent, admitted that he will secure “the biggest room there is”.
“Perhaps if the weather is good, even a stadium, so that they cannot say it was not transparent,” Harabin told Sme, adding that this is the first and the last time he will oblige a request by Fair-Play Alliance head Zuzana Wienk.
Source: Sme
Compiled by Michaela Terenzani from press reports.
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information
presented in its Flash News postings.
