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2014/03 Slovakia EUDO CITIZENSHIP OBSERVATORY ACCESS TO ELECTORAL RIGHTS SLOVAKIA Jana Kazaz December 2014 CITIZENSHIP http://eudo-citizenship.eu European University Institute, Florence Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies EUDO Citizenship Observatory Access to Electoral Rights Slovakia Jana Kazaz December 2014 EUDO Citizenship Observatory Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies Access to Electoral Rights Report, RSCAS/EUDO-CIT-ER 2014/3 Badia Fiesolana, San Domenico di Fiesole (FI), Italy © Jana Kazaz This text may be downloaded only for personal research purposes. Additional reproduction for other purposes, whether in hard copies or electronically, requires the consent of the authors. Requests should be addressed to [email protected] The views expressed in this publication cannot in any circumstances be regarded as the official position of the European Union Published in Italy European University Institute Badia Fiesolana I – 50014 San Domenico di Fiesole (FI) Italy www.eui.eu/RSCAS/Publications/ www.eui.eu cadmus.eui.eu Research for the EUDO Citizenship Observatory Country Reports has been jointly supported, at various times, by the European Commission grant agreements JLS/2007/IP/CA/009 EUCITAC and HOME/2010/EIFX/CA/1774 ACIT, by the European Parliament and by the British Academy Research Project CITMODES (both projects co-directed by the EUI and the University of Edinburgh). The financial support from these projects is gratefully acknowledged. For information about the project please visit the project website at http://eudo-citizenship.eu Access to Electoral Rights Slovakia Jana Kazaz 1. INTRODUCTION The Constitution of the Slovak Republic in Article 30 guarantees for Slovak citizens ‘the right to participate in the administration of public affairs directly or through freely elected representatives.’ After accession to the European Union (EU), Article 30 was complemented with a sentence allowing aliens with permanent residence in Slovakia to have the right to vote and to be elected in regional elections. Slovakia currently has five types of regular elections and one type of referendum, at national level: • Elections to the National Council of the Slovak Republic (parliamentary elections) • Elections to Self-Territorial Units (STUs – regional elections) • Elections to Municipalities (local elections) • Elections to the European Parliament (European elections) • Election of the President of the Slovak Republic (presidential elections) • Referendum Until May 2014, all of the above mentioned elections were governed by a legislative act that regulated electoral rights, voter registration, voting, candidacy and electoral campaigns for each election separately. The oldest electoral law was from 1990, the most recent one from 2004, and all laws were amended multiple times. Leaving substantive discussion of the electoral system aside, the most problematic feature of electoral legislation in Slovakia was its terminological inconsistency, different regulation of the procedures, electoral campaign rules and financing. While political parties have advocated a single electoral code on several occasions, there had not been a specific draft submitted to parliament on that matter until August 20131. On October 24, 2013 the Government requested to transfer the bill to the next parliamentary session in 2014. The new Act 180/2014 on Conditions of Exercise of Voting Right 1 Legislative draft No. 659 delivered to the National Council on August 16, 2013. RSCAS/EUDO-CIT-ER 2014/3 - © 2014 Author 1 Jana Kazaz (“Electoral Code”) was together with the new Act on Electoral Campaign 181/2014 adopted by parliament on May 29, 2014. An important fact about the two new acts is that they do not substantially change the existing electoral systems but merely unify procedural aspects of elections. The Electoral Act unifies conditions for all six elections. It consists of nine parts, the first part introducing general principles and rules common to all elections, parts two to eight on specific types of elections, and the ninth part on provisional articles2. Perhaps the greatest novelty lies in the creation of a permanent commission to oversee elections, political party finances and campaigns. The commission will be composed of fourteen members, ten nominated by parliamentary political parties and four by the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, the General Prosecution, and the Supreme Audit Office. Unfortunately, the law does not introduce alternative methods of voting (by internet or embassy), which would enfranchise a considerable number of Slovak citizens residing or travelling abroad. Until the new legislation had been adopted, voting by mail was allowed only in parliamentary elections. The new law introduced voting by mail also for referendums. However, the remaining four types of elections (European, regional, local and presidential) remain out of reach for Slovaks living or traveling abroad. The Electoral Code also introduced a controversial requirement for mayoral candidates in local elections. Candidates for the post of mayor in local elections as of July 2014 must have completed at least a secondary level of education. Several Members of Parliament already announced their intention to challenge the constitutionality of this provision in the Constitutional Court3. Lastly, from time to time, politicians open a discussion on more substantial changes to the electoral system. Usually this happens before parliamentary elections, when candidates promise to change the electoral system in order to strengthen the ties between voters and representatives. One example would be by redistricting Slovakia into multiple electoral constituencies. Unfortunately, the new Electoral Code does not change the fact that the Slovak Republic is one electoral constituency for the purpose of national and European parliamentary elections, nor does it introduce any other measure that would bring representatives closer to voters. 2 There are seven specific parts, each devoted to one type of election; on the other hand, there are only six election types. The seventh type is a vote on the dismissal of the President of Slovakia. It was introduced at the same time as a popular vote for President. In 1999, citizens were not only given the right to directly elect a President, but also the right to initiate and vote for his or her dismissal. 3 A group of parliamentary opposition MPs led by former Minister of Justice Daniel Lipsic petitioned the Constitutional Court on July 18, 2014. Lipsic said that the education level requirement is not constitutional, since democracy means that all people can elect whomever they desire. Article available at: http://m.teraz.sk/slovensko/stredoskolske-vzdelanie-starostovia-ussr/91833-clanok.html (only in Slovak). Last accessed on August 22, 2014. 2 RSCAS/EUDO-CIT-ER 2014/3 - © 2014 Author Access to Electoral Rights: Slovakia 2. ELIGIBILITY: Who has electoral rights under national law? Every citizen of the Slovak Republic, who is 18 years of age on the day of the election, has a right to vote in parliamentary, regional, European, local and presidential elections. In European, regional and local elections, foreign citizens with permanent residence are entitled to vote and be elected. 2.1. Citizen residents 2.1.1. Age The voting age in all types of elections in Slovakia is 18 years. Legislation specifies that a person turning 18 on the day of the election has a right to vote. The age limit for an elected official is 21 years for parliamentary and European elections, 40 years for presidential candidates and 25 years for mayors of cities and presidents of Self-Territorial Units. The age limit of candidates for deputies of local and regional councils is 18 years. 2.1.2. Mental Disabilities Persons with mental disabilities have the right to vote or be elected, provided that they have not been found legally incapacitated by the decision of a court of law. This is a general rule for all voters. If mental disability precludes a person from marking and casting the vote, he or she may be assisted by another eligible voter, provided that the latter does not serve on an electoral committee. For example, if someone is blind, or has a different disability that prevents him or her from reading or writing, another voter may help him or her mark and cast the vote. In case a voter cannot come to vote at the designated polling place, especially because of health reasons, he or she can request the option to cast a vote into a “mobile” ballot box. This option may be activated by a voter, or his or her relative or neighbor, by informing the local electoral committee. 2.1.3. Persons convicted of criminal offences In general, persons convicted of criminal offences have the right to vote in all elections. Pursuant to the Electoral Code, persons serving a prison sentence for a particularly serious crime as defined by the Criminal Code are disqualified from voting in all types of elections. Persons serving a prison sentence are precluded from exercising their right to be elected. In February 2009 the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic delivered a decision, according to which citizens who, at the time of the elections, are imprisoned have a right to vote in parliamentary and European elections4. The Constitutional Court in the above mentioned decision stated that only imprisonment for particularly serious crimes may restrict the right to vote in parliamentary elections. The Court also confirmed that imprisonment or detention did not automatically deprive persons of their right to vote. However, imprisonment 4 No. PL US 6/08 RSCAS/EUDO-CIT-ER 2014/3 - © 2014 Author 3 Jana Kazaz did deprive them of the right to be elected, since, in case of election, it precludes the exercise of the mandate. The Court also declared that the right to vote for persons serving a prison sentence does not apply to local and regional elections, since people serving a sentence could not be present in their districts at the time of elections and are consequently not affected by the decisions of local councils and mayors5. 2.2. Citizens abroad 2.2.1.
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