Elections26: Heredos Wants to Run for Bratislava Mayor Post Again

Bratislava, 10 March (TASR) - Miroslav Heredos, chairman of the Free Zone NGO and one of the unsuccessful candidates in 2022, is the latest new candidate for the post of Bratislava mayor in the local elections due to be held this autumn. Announcing his candidacy in a video on social media, Heredos said that he wants to run as an independent candidate. He defended his candidacy by saying that the city has drifted away from its people. In the previous mayoral race, Heredos finished in third place. "I really love our Bratislava, but it's changed beyond recognition over Matus Vallo's eight years in office. It's drifted away from us, the people, it doesn't serve us, and it's become distant from us as citizens," stated Heredos, adding that the inhabitants of the city should feel the honour and benefits that come from being a citizen with permanent residence in Bratislava. He promised to halt and reform plenty of "distorting and devaluing policies," with corrections in several areas. He plans to carry out a comprehensive reform of the city-wide PAAS parking policy with general benefits for the residents of city districts, including year-round free parking in their own district. When it comes to public transport, he wants to immediately set the price of annual pre-paid tickets equal to the price in Prague, i.e. at €149. He considers the current price [€263 - ed. note] to be absolutely devastating and one that doesn't encourage car drivers to switch to public transport. He also wants to reintroduce the 15-minute ticket. He plans to remove the controversial cycle path from Vajanskeho nabrezie and restore the road to its original condition. Heredos promises to halt the growth in the city's debt, with balanced finances and a reduction of the City Council's spending. He also proposes scrapping the post of night-time mayor and establishing a City Ombudsman's Office. Current Bratislava mayor Matus Vallo has officially announced his bid for re-election. He's running for a four-member coalition composed of Team Bratislava, Progressive Slovakia (PS), Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) and Democrats and is vying for the post for the third time. Bratislava city and regional councillor Martin Winkler (Dunaj paty) and long-term mayor of Bratislava's borough of Karlova Ves Dana Cahojova have also officially announced that they'll stand for the post of Bratislava mayor. Transport Minister Jozef Raz's (a Smer-SD nominee) name has been mentioned in connection with the post as well, but he's neither confirmed, nor rejected a bid as yet. ko/df