Sutaj Estok: Election of New Prosecutor-General before Election Not on Agenda

Bratislava, 9 February (TASR) – The election of a new prosecutor-general (PG) before the 2027 parliamentary election is not on the agenda, leader of the coalition Voice-SD party and Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok reiterated on Monday. Sutaj Estok doesn't believe that there is room for a political agreement on such a "sensitive issue". "I think that this isn't something to be considered, and I don't think that there will be any room at all to find agreement on such a sensitive issue as the election of a new prosecutor-general. You know very well that this election has always triggered major controversies in the past," said Sutaj Estok. Asked whether he believes that the current governing coalition should elect a new prosecutor-general, even though the seven-year term of the current holder, Maros Zilinka, is set to expire after the election in 2027, he replied that this is a theoretical question. "In this case I really don't know what the deadlines are and when it will be possible to elect a prosecutor-general before the end of his term. So, if we even get there in a year or so, there'll be time to talk about it then," he added. With respect to the 2027 parliamentary election, he said that he takes the four-year mandate as party leader that he received at last year's party congress with full seriousness. He also believes the party has a good team of ministers. "We want to do everything to carry Voice through to the next elections, to get closer to the result that we achieved in the [last] parliamentary election," added Sutaj Estok. Defence Minister Robert Kalinak and House Vice-chair Tibor Gaspar (both Smer-SD) said last week that they could imagine the election of a new prosecutor-general before the next parliamentary election in the autumn of 2027. According to them, it's appropriate to elect the head of the prosecution service well in advance. Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) said over the weekend that he sees no room for deciding on a new prosecutor-general next year. Statements about an earlier PG election have also been criticised by the opposition. mf/df