Rasi: Voice-SD Hasn't Found Support Yet to Scrap Single Electoral District (2)

Bratislava 27 December (TASR) - Coalition's Voice-SD party wants to reopen the issue of removing the single nationwide electoral district from the Slovak Constitution, but it has not yet found sufficient support to push the change through, House Chair and Voice-SD vice-chair Richard Rasi has said in a year-end interview for TASR. "We have not yet found the support. I am surprised that even parties that are traditionally regional haven't backed it," he said. Rasi added that Voice-SD still wants to reopen the issue and plans to do so if a constitutional amendment is tabled to extend the term of office for mayors and local councillors. He also pointed out that the provision stating that Slovakia forms a single electoral district for parliamentary elections had been inserted into the Constitution during the previous government. According to Rasi, removing it would not bring any concrete changes to the electoral system, but he finds it important to make adjustments. Rasi believes that every region should have representation in Parliament corresponding to its size. Under the current model, he said, there is a risk that decisions about Slovakia could be made exclusively by Bratislava-based lawmakers. Roman Michelko, who chairs the coalition's Slovak National Party (SNS) parliamentary caucus, thinks the proposal to remove the single electoral district from the Constitution stands no chance of success in the current parliamentary term. "It is opposed by Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), it is also opposed by Smer-SD, there is no constitutional majority for this. Basically, the only parties that want it are Voice-SD and the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), and that is definitely not enough," he said in an interview for TASR. In his view, the change may be a topic for academic debate, but with the current composition of Parliament the odds of it passing are zero. Voice-SD pushed for removing the single electoral district from the Constitution during its most recent amendment. However, the proposal failed to gain sufficient support in the House, including from within the coalition. NOTE: This story has been extended to include the final two paragraphs mf