Mesterova to Appeal to Constitutional Court about Freedom of Speech Restriction

Bratislava, 24 April (TASR) - MPs for the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party held a news conference in Parliament on Friday to criticise what happened in Parliament earlier in the day, opposing House Vice-chair Andrej Danko's (Slovak National Party/SNS) decision to order PS caucus head Zuzana Mesterova out of the chamber. PS representatives view this as a restriction of freedom of speech in Parliament, announcing their decision to appeal to the Constitutional Court in this connection. "I'll file a complaint with the Constitutional Court, as this isn't normal. Danko routinely bullies us here, calling us 'wild women' and various other labels depending on his mood and the state of his mind at the given moment. We'll turn to the Constitutional Court and see if this isn't gross interference with the exercise of MPs' mandates in Parliament," said Mesterova. MPs for PS don't think that they breached the parliamentary rules of procedure by bringing sheets with signatures for a petition against restricting voting from abroad into the chamber. "I challenge anyone to show me a provision in the rules of procedure that authorises the person chairing the session to order someone out of the chamber for having papers on their desk. Where are we - in Russia?" asked House Vice-chair Martin Dubeci (PS). He also commented on House Vice-chair Tibor Gaspar (Smer-SD), who praised Danko's response and claimed that he had difficulty finishing his speech in Parliament due to the opposition's behaviour. "It happens to me regularly when I chair a session that MPs shout here; however, that situation can be handled without ordering MPs out of the chamber. That really is the last resort," stated Dubeci. During Friday's parliamentary debate on draft legislation to amend voting from abroad sponsored by the coalition Smer-SD party, MP Mesterova was ordered out of the chamber by Danko, who was chairing the session. He argued that the MP had sheets with her that she intended to use during her speech. Danko described the papers as PS's promotional materials. He added that Mesterova was disrupting Gaspar during his speech. ko/df