ALMOST 6,900 Slovaks living abroad plan to vote via mail in the June 12 parliamentary elections. The number has almost doubled from the 2006 elections, the ČTK newswire reported.
Spokesperson for Slovenská Pošta Juraj Danielis said that 540 voters had already returned their ballots from abroad and that the post office has sent out 6,731 priority letters and 154 standard letters to Slovaks living abroad who requested their ballots be sent to a foreign address.
The deadline for registering to receive a postal ballot was April 23. A ballot is then sent by the municipal office in which the person has permanent Slovak residence.
Slovak citizens with a permanent residence abroad could request a ballot from a specialised municipal office in Bratislava’s Petržalka district, which has received requests from over 400 Slovaks, down from 640 requests at the 2006 elections.
Every mail ballot delivered to the applicable municipal offices one day before the election, i.e. by Friday June 11, will be counted.
According to the latest statistics there are about 130,000 Slovaks working and living abroad, the ČTK reported, adding that many of them have complained that they find the process of voting by mail to be complicated and discouraging and would welcome the possibility to vote electronically or at Slovak embassies in foreign countries.
