Slovakia is within the midst of 9 months of elections: voters are requested to go to the polls 4 instances between September 2023 and June 2024. They already elected a brand new Slovak parliament; Robert Fico made an enormous comeback and have become prime minister for the fourth time.
In March and April Slovakia elected the brand new president who will change Zuzana Čaputová, first feminine president in Slovak historical past. After fierce battle and excessive turnout, former PM and Fico’s ally Peter Pellegrini will grow to be the brand new Slovak president. And in June Slovak voters will elect 15 members of the European Parliament.
With this in thoughts none ought to be stunned that a couple of weeks earlier than European elections there may be principally no marketing campaign happening. We will see just a few billboards within the streets and one is anticipating that the turnout in June after this exhausting yr gained’t be very excessive.
It might be nothing new. Slovakia has been a member of the European Union for 20 years. Since then now we have voted in 4 European elections. Slovakia had the bottom turnout amongst all nations within the EU in each one in all them, even after new Balkan states corresponding to Croatia or Bulgaria joined the bloc.
Our lowest turnout was 13% in 2014. 5 years later turnout was increased – however nonetheless barely above 22%. It exhibits that Slovak voters do not pay a lot consideration to the European Parliament or don’t really feel that few Slovak MEPs could make a lot distinction despite the fact that two of them had been vice-president of the European Parliament not too long ago.
The controversy in Slovak politics within the final months is concentrated on the brand new authorities which has adopted the steps of the Hungarian or former Polish authorities at a quick tempo. Robert Fico has been accused of corruption throughout earlier phrases. He stepped down in 2018 after probably the most huge protests in current Slovak historical past which have been triggered by the homicide of Slovak journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancee Martina Kušnírová.
