Igor Matovič (source: TASR)
The ruling Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OĽaNO) of PM Igor Matovič chose 70 candidates for the district office selection procedure.
There are 72 districts in Slovakia, and the district office in each of them is the lowest level of the state administration. OĽaNO has set out to fill the 72 posts with new people after the election. When they were criticised for monopolising the selection process and not involving their coalition partners in it, they argued that as the coalition partner overseeing the Interior Ministry (which in turn oversees the district offices), it was their responsibility to fill the post. Now, they want citizens to participate in the selection.
On July 6, 2020, OĽaNO presented the method they have been using to carry out the procedure since they took over. They have had about 500 nominations for the 72 vacant posts. In the end, about 330 candidates underwent the selection procedure.
“We tried not to make this about "our people",” said OĽaNO parliamentary caucus chair Michal Šipoš, as quoted by the SITA newswire.
To illustrate that attitude, he said that some people who run as candidates of the movement for parliament in the past failed to get selected for the district office top posts.
