Voice Presidium Recommends Congress Should Elect Sutaj Estok as Party Chair (2)

Bratislava, May 24 (TASR) - The presidium of the coalition Voice-SD party has unanimously recommended that the party's congress should elect current general manager of the party and Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok as the party's new chairman, party spokesperson Karolina Ducka has informed TASR. At the same time, the presidium declared that it supports Voice-SD vice-chair and Investment Minister Richard Rasi for the post of parliamentary chair. Sutaj Estok was proposed to the presidium by current party chair Peter Pellegrini, who will resign from the post at the congress in Kosice on June 1, as he was elected as head of state. "In these difficult times, the party needs the energy and determination that Matus personifies for many," stated Pellegrini. The president-elect also said that he will suspend his party membership. Meanwhile, the presidium proposed adding a fifth vice-chair to the party leadership, recommending Education Minister and presidium member Tomas Drucker for the post. It confirmed that Voice-SD bears responsibility for filling the parliamentary chair post based on the results of the general election and the coalition agreement. It insists on Richard Rasi's nomination for the post. The presidium called last week's assassination attempt on Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) an assassination attempt on democracy. It called for an easing of tension in society and the end of deliberate spreading of hatred. It declared that the party remains a stabilising political force in Slovakia and a stable member of the governing coalition in this difficult period. ko/df