Referendum: 8,640 Voters Apply to Vote from Abroad by Post

Bratislava, 18 May (TASR) - A total of 8,460 people have expressed their interest in voting by post from abroad in the July referendum, with the highest number, 3,540, applying from the Czech Republic, Interior Ministry spokesman Matej Neumann announced on Monday. In addition, 880 people want to vote by post from the United Kingdom, 691 from Germany, 462 from Switzerland and 422 from Austria. Postal voting from abroad is intended for Slovak citizens who wish to take part in the referendum but don't have permanent residence in Slovakia, or who do have permanent residence in Slovakia but will be outside the country during the referendum. Voters must send the return envelopes to the Interior Ministry no later than 12 p.m. on 3 July or the vote will not be counted. The referendum will take place on 4 July. Voters will decide on two issues: whether they agree with scrapping the life-time annuity granted to certain public officials, including Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD), and whether they agree with restoring the Special Prosecutor's Office and the National Criminal Agency (NAKA). A referendum is called by the president if at least 350,000 citizens request it via a petition. The referendum was initiated by the extra-parliamentary Democrats party, which has announced that it wants to appeal to the Constitutional Court over the president's decision not to include a question on shortening the electoral term. ko/df