Pellegrini: Smer-SD Against "Lex Lipsic", Will Debate Bill in House

Bratislava, June 3 (TASR) - Changes to the way the prosecutor-general will be elected don't sit well with opposition Smer-SD, party vice-chair Peter Pellegrini declared on Wednesday. According to Pellegrini, the party won't participate in the general discussion on the changes advocated by the coalition, but will certainly debate the bill in the House. MP Juraj Blanar underlined that Smer-SD is against allowing non-prosecutors to become the chief prosecutor in the country and they also reject having a public vote on the PG in Parliament. Pellegrini underlined that these changes are a serious and extensive intervention into the democratic rules. He also perceives as dangerous a potential effort to politicize the prosecutor's office. "Especially when the character of the Prime Minister and some ministers is taken into account," he claimed, adding that it could be problematic if such people took over the prosecutor's office and police. Pellegrini believes that the only reason why the governing coalition champions a public vote on the PG is to supervise the votes of its lawmakers. He is convinced that the prosecutor-general has no business to know how individual lawmakers voted in his or her election. mf/mcs