President Čaputová made a statement on the referendum – Pluska.sk

The President of the Slovak Republic, Zuzana Čaputová, made a statement on the referendum. She said she would not have to make such a statement at all, nor would she provide preliminary consultations in the future, as “the president is not legal advice”. “Nevertheless, I have decided to speak on this topic. And I do so because this topic resonates in Slovakia all year round and I do so out of respect for the people who signed the petition for the referendum,” concluded. She recalled that the issue originally proposed by Smer had been declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court.

Two months ago, the head of Smer, Robert Fico, and a group of his deputies, Čaputová, delivered two referendum questions, which they want to petition for a referendum. In a statement, the president revealed what these issues are about. The first concerns whether citizens want to change the constitution in such a way that it would allow people to shorten the term of the National Council through a referendum. The second question is “If the result of the referendum on issue number one, ie a change in the constitution, were valid, they would also like to call early elections against this particular composition of parliament.”

The President sees this as a fundamental problem, as the law on the conditions for exercising the right to vote states that the issues in the referendum must not be mutually conditioned. According to Čaputová, the questions provided by Smer are formulated in such a way that if the first question turns out well, then the second one also applies. “I can’t imagine a bigger example of interdependence, whether formulation or factual, like this,” the president said that the preparation of the referendum was a very responsible matter and therefore recommended that anyone who took such a step consulted with constitutional lawyers. “There are great expectations of the public. There is pressure on the president, ultimatums are given, which is completely absurd.” the head of state relented hard.

She added that she would call a referendum when the issue was in line with the constitution or whether the main state law itself would be amended to allow a referendum to be called to shorten a specific term. “In other words, I will call any referendum and any issue that I will not agree with, if it is in accordance with the constitution. But those issues must not be conditional on each other, because that is forbidden by law and that is the point.” Čaputová pointed out.

Finally, she also commented on the pandemic situation, which according to experts seems to be catastrophic. “I know that the government is negotiating now and I hope that it will take bold and ambitious measures that will protect us,” declared and thanked the paramedics, doctors and paramedics.

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Authors:
am, ra