Election26: Sutaj Estok Urges Voters to Take Part in Regional and Local Election

Spisska Nova Ves/Bratislava, 17 October (TASR) – Voice-SD party leader Matus Sutaj Estok urges citizens to take part in the combined local and regional elections, underlining that they offer a democratic opportunity to decide who will govern towns, municipalities and self-governing regions in the coming years. "I appeal to all people of Slovakia to exercise their right to vote on 24 October. It is not an obligation, but an opportunity and a privilege of democracy," Sutaj Estok declared at a press conference in Spisska Nova Ves on Saturday. He also expressed his wish for the highest possible voter turnout. "Direct democracy is precisely about being able to choose who will represent you at the head of a region, town or municipality, and which representatives will sit on the individual councils," he pointed out. Regarding the election for Kosice regional governor, he endorsed the candidacy of MP Igor Simko, who, he said, was also backed by Smer-SD, the Slovak National Party (SNS), the Republic and other political groups. In Spisska Nova Ves, he expressed his support for incumbent deputy mayor and MP David Demecko. Sutaj Estok also referred to the situation in the Presov region's election. "Unfortunately, the situation in the Presov region is what it is, and I say this as Voice-SD chairman: our voters will probably find it difficult to choose a candidate for regional governor," he said, referring to the fact that the top two frontrunners in the race are incumbent governor and opposition's KDH leader Milan Majersky and far-right MEP Milan Mazurek. The Voice-SD leader underlined the importance of regional politics and cooperation between local and regional authorities and the state. He said it was important for the regions to have strong representation at national level as well. He therefore pointed to the party's long-standing initiative to change the electoral system to ensure that every district had a directly elected member of Parliament. mf