OĽaNO leader Igor Matovič and the OĽaNO caucus. (source: TASR)
The ruling party Ordinary People and Independent Personalities have kicked out two MPs after the May 4 vote, which saw the house reject the prosecutor’s request for the arrest of former prime minister Robert Fico and pre-trial custody proceedings.
The vote on Fico
Of the 150 MPs present, 74 voted to allow Fico’s arrest, 49 were against.
SaS party, Za Ľudí, most of OĽaNO and two unaffiliated MPs were in favour
Tabák (OĽaNO) did not vote
Hatráková (OĽaNO) and Sme Rodina abstained
Smer, Hlas, Republika were against
ĽSNS MPs did not vote
All 150 MPs were present in the house for the vote, a rare occurrence. To approve the prosecutor’s request, 76 votes were needed. In the end, 74 voted to give the green light to the prosecutor to request pre-trial custody for Fico. Two OĽaNO MPs and the entire Sme Rodina caucus abstained from the vote.
Smer chair Robert Fico faced a pre-trial custody request after he was charged, along with his former right-hand man who served as interior minister under Smer governments, Robert Kaliňák, with establishing a criminal group, and endangering trade secrecy, bank secrecy, secrecy of correspondence, telecommunications secrecy and tax secrecy.
Kaliňák is currently in pre-trial custody, but Fico is an MP and could not be arrested unless his fellow MPs voted to allow it.
Straight after the vote, Fico shook hands with right-wing extremist Marian Kotleba (ĽSNS) and his former right hand politician Peter Pellegrini (Hlas) in a victory gesture. It is believed that Fico’s triumph will be the final blow for ex-PM, current Finance minister and OĽaNO chair Igor Matovič, his political rival.
