President Rejects Local Elections as Dress Rehearsal for General Election

Bratislava, 16 September (TASR) - In his State of the Republic address in Parliament on Wednesday, President Peter Pellegrini rejected the idea that the combined local and regional elections due to be held in October should serve as a 'dress rehearsal' for the general election. According to the head of state, the key question in the autumn elections is how a specific village, town, city or region will develop. "These are very concrete, practical matters concerning everyday lives of our citizens, and I truly see no reason why parliamentary politics should influence them," he remarked. He views it as natural that many candidates for mayor or regional governor posts run with the support of political parties. "But let's be aware that local and regional elections are really about the candidate — about an individual who has either done a good job for people in their town or village, or someone with a positive life story who has the right qualities for the role," stated Pellegrini. The president expressed regret that more substantial progress hasn't been made on public administration reform in recent years. "Newly elected mayors and regional governors will thus continue to operate under conditions very similar to the present ones," he said. According to him, effective public administration reform would offer Slovakia not only a better operational model for towns, villages and regions, but also significant economic opportunities, a better rate of drawing EU funds and greater prospects for active and clever people in the Slovak regions. "It only takes the courage to pursue it," he said. ko/df