THE CAMPAIGN leading up to the April 3 referendum on early elections starts toda, but some politicians launched campaigns days before the official date to convince citizens to participate in the popular vote.
The opposition party Smer officially started the campaign on March 19 in the east of the country, the Slovak daily SME wrote. Smer is one of the strongest supporters of the early elections. According to Smer chairman Robert Fico, the law does not ban parties from organising meetings with citizens.
While most of the Slovak opposition parties are encouraging people to participate in the referendum, ruling parties have called on their supporters to ignore the vote.
At a national party summit on March 20, the ruling New Citizen's Alliance (ANO) decided that it would tell its voters to not go to the polls - arguing that early elections would threaten the economic development of Slovakia.
"We consider it incorrect to say that the cabinet has intentionally incorporated as many unpopular steps as possible to impact the living standards of inhabitants," the ANO chairman Pavol Rusko said.
Compiled by Martina Pisárová from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
