Parliament will deal with a proposal to impeach President Ivan Gašparovič, Speaker of Parliament Pavol Paška decided on Wednesday, inviting Gašparovič to take part in the session. It is due to take place this afternoon (Thursday, February 14).
The proposal to pursue legal action against Gašparovič, stemming from his allegedly deliberate violation of the Slovak Constitution in failing to appoint general prosecutor-elect Jozef Čentéš to office, was submitted to parliament on January 17 by its opposition signatories – the Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) and Most-Híd parties, plus some Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OĽaNO) MPs.
However, Gašparovič is not planning to take part in the session on Thursday, the TASR newswire was told by the president's spokesman, Marek Trubač. The proposal has to be approved by at least 90 MPs to be submitted to the Constitutional Court. This is highly improbable, as the governing Smer party, which controls 83 of the 150 seats in the assembly, is publicly backing Gašparovič.
The Sme daily on Thursday quoted Marek Trubač as saying that the president does not plan to attend the session. The draft lawsuit was signed by 44 MPs from all five opposition parties. The move was initiated by SaS, Sme wrote.
Sources: TASR, Sme
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
