A new Constitutional Act amendment drafted by Renáta Zmajkovičová, an MP for the ruling Smer party, aimed at restricting parliamentary immunity is regarded by the opposition as “steeped in hypocrisy”, the chairmen of the opposition Christian-Democratic Movement (KDH), Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ-DS) and Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK) agreed after a joint meeting on December 1. However, the opposition will still vote in favour of the amendment since the parties have themselves sponsored such a bill on several occasions.
The opposition representatives backed their claim of hypocrisy by citing the case of Smer MP Ján Kvorka, the TASR newswire wrote. The Mandate and Immunity Committee, led by Zmajkovičová, declined a request from the General Prosecutor's Office in October to lift Kvorka's immunity so that he could face criminal prosecution for allegedly using violence in an attempt to recover a debt.
A minimum of 90 votes – a so-called constitutional majority – is required to change a Constitutional Act. The ruling coalition does not command that many votes, so the fact that Zmajkovičová did not consult with opposition parties about her amendment is being treated by them as a snub.
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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