A new Election Code is under preparation in a way that will allow parliament to vote on it by the end of 2011 or at the beginning of 2012, said Interior Minister Daniel Lipšic on January 24 after a meeting of the commission that is charged with preparing the changes, the TASR newswire reported.
"It should be passed at least two years before the next election, so that the election rules will be given and known in advance," said Lipšic to TASR, adding that discussions on the need for a new Election Code have been taking place for ten years but work on it has only recently begun. The first version of the Code should be drafted by the summer so that there will be enough time for all political parties to discuss it.
"My ambition is to have it adopted by consensus," said Lipsic, adding that the law would stipulate the rules for everybody thus should not be dictated by one party only. He added that the law should also restrict the election moratorium only to election day.
The commission has so far agreed that local elections should be held at the same time as regional ones, while elections to the European Parliament should be held alongside Slovakia's presidential elections.
"An extraordinarily negative phenomenon that accompanies practically all elections is vote-buying," said Interior Ministry State Secretary Maroš Žilinka. The ministry wants to push through an amendment to the Criminal Code that would introduce harsher punishments for such practices. Elections via the internet will not be included in the current changes due to technical problems linked to ensuring security said Žilinka.
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.
