THE DEPUTY president of the Nitra Self-Governing Region, Vladislav Borík, resigned from his position ten days after Slovakia’s police accused him of manipulating three public procurements used to select firms to provide services to the regional government, the Sme daily reported.
Borík and five other persons were charged by Slovak police on May 24 with crimes related to public procurements that had a total value of €30,000. The individuals could face seven to 12 years in prison if found guilty.
Though Borík first said that he would resign from his government post as well as from the Smer party, which had nominated him to the position, he then changed his mind and said he would continue serving as deputy president.
Borík came under increasing pressure to resign as members of the regional parliament from Smer announced they would take action to force his dismissal, said Stanislav Katrinec, the spokesman for the government office of the Nitra Self-Governing Region.
Borík submitted his resignation to the president of Nitra Region, Milan Belica, who had also submitted a proposal to the regional parliament for it to dismiss Borík.
It is likely that there would have been more than enough votes for Borík’s dismissal, since regional MPs from Smer, the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) and the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) all said they would vote to remove Borík from office, the Sme daily wrote.
