Parliament to elect new ombudsman

Members of the Slovak parliament will vote for a new public ombudsman on February 8, a date set by the Speaker, Andrej Danko (SNS). Incumbent Ombudswoman Jana Dubovcová’s term of office will expire on March 28, 2017. She has stated in the past that she will not run for re-election.

Danko has called on lawmakers who intend to put forward nominations to do so in writing by 16:00 on January 27 at the very latest.

Parliament elects a new ombudsman from among candidates who obtain at least 15 MPs’ signatures for their nomination. In order to be eligible, candidates must be older than 35, of full legal capacity and with no criminal record. They should have a good education, skills, experience and moral qualities that extend guarantees that they could exercise the powers of the ombudsman appropriately. They must not be a member of any political party.