Fico Floats End to Postal Voting from Abroad

Smolenice/Bratislava, 25 February (TASR) - Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) doesn't rule out scrapping postal voting in parliamentary elections for Slovaks living abroad. Speaking at a press conference during Wednesday's away-from-home cabinet session in the town of Smolenice (Trnava region), Fico stated that although the government is not preparing such a proposal, he would consider it a good idea if it were put forward by lawmakers. At the same time, he wants Slovak citizens to be allowed to vote at embassies and other designated locations abroad. "The government is not preparing such a proposal, but that does not mean that coalition MPs are not discussing it," Fico said in response to a question about the possible abolition of postal voting from abroad. "If MPs come forward with it, I will say it's a good idea. I will ask them to create more polling stations in other countries so that people can come and vote there," he underlined. Fico argued that voting through postal ballots can be manipulated. He questioned whether it would not be more reasonable to agree, for example, that in Canada voting could take place at the embassy as well as at several other locations where citizens could cast their ballots "in a proper democratic way and behind a screen, as it should be". The prime minister said he is convinced that the 2023 parliamentary elections were influenced from abroad, claiming that British diplomacy had, in his view, provided funding to influence the election outcome. "It is evident that the West intervened in the 2023 elections to the detriment of the then-opposition parties," he said. "It is our duty to guarantee that elections are democratic and secret, as they should be. We will do everything to prevent fraud," he added. The opposition's Progressive Slovakia (PS) party raised concerns on Tuesday, 24 February, about a possible change to voting from abroad in elections to Parliament. It sees the move as an attempt to restrict voting rights and called on the prime minister and the government not to implement such changes to the law. mf