Štefan Harabin, the head of Slovakia’s Judicial Council and president of the Supreme Court told the TASR newswire on May 28 that chairs of district and regional courts cannot independently change the time when they hold the election for members of the Judicial Council.
Harabin was responding to a reported attempt by the Bratislava Regional Court's chairman, Marian Trenčan, to change the election time.
"Chairman Trenčan wantonly changed the election hours to 11:00-14:00 – a change that would prevent presiding judges in Bratislava region from voting. Judges have a right to vote, however, but they're also busy with their duties and cases. Therefore, poll stations must remain open until midnight on the election day," stated Harabin, as quoted by the TASR newswire. Harabin said such an initiative was an attempt to lower the turnout, TASR wrote.
The Judicial Council election is set for May 29 in which judges will elect eight new representatives for the 18-member Judicial Council.
Trenčan told the SITA newswire that those judges who will not make it to the changed site of the election, the buildings of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Patrónka instead of the usual Justice Palace, before 14:00 will be allowed to cast their vote until 24:00.
Source: TASR, SITA
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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