KDH Claims Gov't May Raise Parliamentary Entry Threshold to 10 percent

Bratislava, 18 March (TASR) – Opposition Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) party chair Milan Majersky warned on Wednesday that the governing coalition is planning to increase the threshold for parties to enter Parliament after elections, potentially up to 10 percent of the votes. Majersky described the move as a serious restriction on electoral competition, warning that several hundred thousand votes could be lost in elections. "The governing coalition is changing the rules of the game. I'm convinced that Robert Fico will not leave the fight easily; he'll try to hold on tooth and nail," stated Majersky at a press conference. The KDH chair added that the coalition is aware that its popularity is plummeting and that it's losing favour with the public, which is why it wants to change the electoral rules and raise the parliamentary entry threshold. "Many coalition MPs are saying that this could go up to as much as 10 percent," he noted, warning that many political parties that currently poll between 5 and 10 percent would be excluded from Parliament under the proposed changes. "Therefore, we publicly ask Robert Fico why he wants to restrict democratic electoral competition," said Majersky, noting that KDH is consulting constitutional lawyers and is ready to approach the Constitutional Court. Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) has previously discussed the need for dialogue on changing the electoral system, including raising the election deposit or increasing the parliamentary entry threshold for parties to at least 7 percent. Currently, parties must receive at least 5 percent of votes in parliamentary elections to make it into Parliament, while coalitions require 7 percent. Last summer, the Interior Ministry prepared an amendment addressing an increase in the election deposit and changes to state funding for parties. The draft didn't advance further in the legislative process, however. mf/df