Sutaj Estok: We'll Deal with Issue of Authenticity of Petition Signatures

Bratislava, June 5 (TASR) - Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice-SD) has acknowledged that the Interior Ministry will need to address the issue of verifying the authenticity of signatures on petitions, TASR learnt on Thursday. According to Sutaj Estok, the ministry will review the current legislation and consider options for updating it in line with the present time. The minister was responding to a journalist's question regarding the appeal made by Slovak President Peter Pellegrini for the government to take up this issue. "Perhaps a valid question arises for us at the Interior Ministry to respond to the objective criticism made by the president in the sense that we need to adapt to the present time and the use of artificial intelligence ... Simply put, we need to look at the current legislation and see whether it can be amended to reflect current issues," the minister stated. He also expressed respect for the president's decision not to call a referendum on the non-application of sanctions against Russia. "I respect the fact that he, from a legal standpoint, had concerns about whether the proposed question was unambiguious and enforceable, meaning that in his opinion, and in the opinion of his legal advisors, it did not comply with the law," added Sutaj Estok. mf/df