Nad: Turnout in Referendum Not Much of Success, But Not Debacle Either

(JOJ 24,'Politika 24', 5 July) Voter turnout in the referendum isn't much of success, but it is not a debacle either, as it is comparable to referendums held in the past, extra-parliamentary Democrats leader Jaroslav Nad said on JOJ 24's discussion programme 'Politika 24' (Politics 24) on Sunday. "I think that 16 percent is not a disastrous outcome. If it were below 10 percent, that probably wouldn't be good. But if a 5- or 6-percent extra-parliamentary party manages to mobilise 700,000 people using solely its own money, that deserves credit," stated Nad. He added that a referendum is a constitutional instrument that citizens have the right for. According to Nad, the referendum was politically 'killed' by President Peter Pellegrini. "The main question, for which 400,000 people signed the petition, was to have the opportunity to express that they didn't want this government to continue. And Pellegrini killed off this question without consulting the Constitutional Court," said Nad, adding that the president was afraid of higher turnout in the referendum. He also criticised the fact that the head of state called the referendum for the summer months, when most Slovaks are on holiday. The Democrats leader also pointed out that the referendum campaign was run solely by the party itself. "We spent €50,000 on the whole campaign, all of it from donations from the people. Despite that, we achieved a 16 percent turnout," stated Nad. Nad said he believed that the common goal with other opposition parties was to offer an alternative to the government of Robert Fico (Smer-SD) and to point out injustices. He therefore expected them to join forces. "To my great disappointment, only Progressive Slovakia (PS) and the Hungarian Alliance joined us in the end, while everyone else ignored it," he said. He views this as a failure of individual leaders who were unable to overcome their egos or political fears. Asked about possible election cooperation, Nad confirmed that Democrats are holding negotiations with PS. Discussions are also underway within the European People's Party platform, which includes 'Slovakia' party, the Hungarian Alliance, and the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH). According to Nad, Democrats are not a one-off party. At the same time, he doesn't want the party members to be "thrown onto someone else's slate". He wants an honest election coalition in which their candidates and programme would be fairly promoted. Nad also stated that Democrats won't block efforts to unite opposition forces before elections. ko