New Rules for Voting from Abroad in Parliament, Submitted by Smer-SD

Bratislava, 30 March (TASR) – Lawmakers from the governing Smer-SD party have submitted to Parliament an amendment to the law on conditions for exercising voting rights to revise voting from abroad. The proposal introduces a new method of voting abroad, whereby voters would cast ballots at diplomatic missions instead of by post. It also seeks to extend the option of voting from abroad to presidential elections. In addition, the amendment changes the level of the electoral deposit for parliamentary and European Parliament elections. "The new legal framework responds to a long-standing demand from voters living abroad to participate in in-person voting in nationwide elections at diplomatic missions, thus enabling them to exercise their right to vote in the country where they are present at the time of the election, without the need to travel to the Slovak Republic or to carry out procedures related to postal voting," the submitters explained. They proposed introducing voting at diplomatic missions not only for parliamentary elections and referendums, but also for presidential elections. "Until now, voters without permanent residence in the Slovak Republic could vote in presidential elections exclusively in person on election day at polling stations within the Slovak Republic, after being added to the voter list upon presenting a Slovak travel document. Replacing in-person voting at polling stations in the Slovak Republic with voting at embassies will significantly increase not only voter comfort for this group, but also the real accessibility of actively participating in the election of the head of state from abroad," they argued. The amendment also changes the method of calculating the electoral deposit for parliamentary elections and elections to the European Parliament. The amount would be linked to the average monthly wage. For parliamentary elections, the deposit would be set at 25 times the average monthly wage instead of €17,000, and for European elections at 2.5 times the average monthly wage instead of €1,700. "The current level of the electoral deposit has not changed since its introduction and no longer represents a relevant sum to demonstrate the seriousness of candidacy for bodies as important as Parliament and the European Parliament. This calculation mechanism will ensure an appropriate increase or decrease in the deposit depending on an objective economic indicator in the Slovak economy," the MPs added, noting that the mechanism reflects conclusions of a ruling by the Constitutional Court. If approved, the amendment is to take effect as of 1 September 2026. mf