Voice-SD Supports Voting Abroad at Embassies Rather Than by Post

Bratislava, 4 March (TASR) - The coalition Voice-SD party supports a measure via which Slovaks abroad would vote directly on election day at embassies or at other state institutions rather than by post, said party leader Matus Sutaj Estok on Wednesday. Sutaj Estok claimed that voting by mail from abroad fails to meet the principles of an equal, direct and secret ballot. He said that Voice-SD will demand that voting abroad at embassies should apply for presidential elections as well. "If Slovaks are to vote abroad, let them do so directly and secretly; for example, through our embassies, in a constitutionally sound manner and without any doubts. That is how it should be in a democratic country. At the same time, we in Voice will call for this method of voting to be applied as well to presidential elections, in which postal voting is impossible due to the two-round system. The government will thus also keep what it promised in its manifesto," he said. Sutaj Estok criticised statements by opposition representatives regarding the coalition's plan to scrap voting by mail from abroad in general elections. "They are frightening people, shouting about the end of democracy, but this is only an adjustment to voting from abroad; not a coup or cancelling elections, but a mere technical change," he said. He pointed to opposition claims that rules shouldn't be changed 18 months before elections, stating that when they were a part of government, they inserted a provision stating that Slovakia constitutes a single electoral district for general elections into the Constitution eight months before the [general] election. "They didn't mind it at all at that time," he said. He also reiterated that Voice-SD has been calling for a change to the electoral system for a long time. "So that half of MPs come from the regions and each district has its own representative in Parliament," added Sutaj Estok. A proposal to scrap voting by mail from abroad in general elections should be submitted to the next parliamentary session, due to start on 14 April. This was announced by House Vice-chair Tibor Gaspar (Smer-SD), who declined to say for now whether the change will be proposed by the government or by MPs. He defended the plan to replace voting by mail with voting at embassies and other potential selected places by pointing to fears that the elections could be manipulated, including via voting by correspondence cards. The opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) first pointed out that a change in the way of voting from abroad in general elections was on the cards. Premier and leader of the coalition Smer-SD party Robert Fico didn't rule it out. He claimed that the government wasn't preparing such a proposal, but if MPs came up with it, he would view it as a good idea. He stressed that Slovaks should be able to vote at embassies and other selected places abroad, however. ko/df