Slovak President Zuzana Čaputova, the opposition and non-governmental organizations are protesting the move, saying it will harm the rule of law in the country. The president called this government plan “unsuccessful and dangerous”.
The draft law provides that the special prosecutor’s office will cease its activities until January 15. Prosecutors will have to move under the Office of the Attorney General, while regional prosecutors’ offices will take over pending cases.
The bill still needs parliamentary and presidential approval. The three-party coalition has a majority in parliament. The president could veto or challenge the changes in the Constitutional Court, but a coalition can override her veto with a simple majority.
The party “Smer” represented by Fico won the first place in the parliamentary elections held on September 30, allowing Fico to return to power for the fourth time.
Smer, which won 22.9% of the vote and 42 out of 150 seats in the parliament, formed a coalition with the Hlas (“Voice”) party, which won 27 seats, and the pro-Russian Slovak National Party (SNS), which won ten mandates.
Fico expressed a pro-Russian and anti-American position in the pre-election campaign. One of the first decisions of Fico’s new government was to end Slovakia’s military aid to Ukraine.
2023-12-06 14:34:00
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