Trade unionists have brought to the presidential palace 12 huge boxes containing more than 17,000 sheets of paper that feature 606,352 signatures of citizens calling for a referendum on early elections, the daily SME wrote.
President Rudolf Schuster promised leaders of the Confederation of Trade Unions (KOZ) that he will act in line with the constitution. The president's team will first check the validity of the signatures and then the president is likely to announce the referendum. Schuster has suggested that he might link the referendum with the first round of presidential elections, to be held in April.
Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda objects to the idea of merging the referendum and presidential elections. He said Schuster would harm the credit of the elections, in which the president might run for re-election.
Dzurinda was also highly critical of the trade unions for organising the petition.
Compiled by Beata Balogová from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
