2023 Slovak constitutional referendum

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2023 Slovak constitutional referendum
21 January 2023 (2023-01-21)
Do you agree that the early termination of the election period of the National Council of the Slovak Republic can be carried out by a referendum or a resolution of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, namely by changing the Constitution of the Slovak Republic?
OutcomeProposal failed as voter turnout was below 50%
Results
Choice
 Votes %
Yes 1,163,586 98.44%
No 18,398 1.56%
Valid votes 1,181,984 99.14%
Invalid or blank votes 10,265 0.86%
Total votes 1,192,249 100.00%
Registered voters/turnout 4,377,565 27.24%
Results of the "yes" vote as a percentage of registered voters by district

A constitutional referendum was held in Slovakia on 21 January 2023. Following the 2020 parliamentary election, in which the Direction – Slovak Social Democracy (SMER) was defeated by the Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OĽaNO), opposition parties initiated a referendum to call a snap election.

The proposed referendum was rejected by the Constitutional Court of Slovakia in 2021, although the organisers submitted another proposal in August 2022. The organisers wanted to propose two questions, one that would ask for the modification of the National Council to call a snap election and one that would ask for the resignation of Eduard Heger's government; the Court ruled that the latter question is unconstitutional, but approved the first one. Subsequently, Zuzana Čaputová, the president of Slovakia, announced the date of the referendum, while Heger voiced his opposition to such referendum.

Although a very large majority of those that voted supported the proposal, it nevertheless was not adopted as less than 50% of all eligible voters in the country exercised their right to vote in the referendum, a requirement under current Slovak law.

Background[edit]

Eduard Heger at a European People's Party event in November 2022
Eduard Heger has served as prime minister of Slovakia since 2021

The constitutional referendum comes in context of repeated attempts by the Direction – Slovak Social Democracy (SMER) to call for early elections.[1] Following the murder of Ján Kuciak in 2018, the Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OĽaNO) topped the polls and defeated SMER in the 2020 parliamentary election.[2][3] Igor Matovič, the leader of OĽaNO, replaced Peter Pellegrini as prime minister of Slovakia and headed a coalition government with We Are Family (SR), Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), and For the People (ZĽ).[4]

Following a political crisis in March 2021 that was caused when Matovič announced the purchase of Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccines, without obtaining the approval of his coalition partners, Matovič was forced to step down as prime minister and was replaced by Eduard Heger.[5] OĽaNO, SR, SaS, and ZĽ continued their cooperation, although SaS left the government in September 2022 due to their differences on economic policy.[6][7] Heger's government faced a motion of no confidence in December 2022, which successfully passed.[8] Richard Sulík, the leader of SaS, stated that he would be in favour of forming a new government, while president of Slovakia, Zuzana Čaputová, stated that Heger would continue serving as caretaker head of government.[8][9] This gave the opportunity for members of parliament to modify the constitution to organise early elections, and if failing to do so, a new government will have to be formed.[9]

Conduct[edit]

Voters without permanent residence in Slovakia and voters with permanent residence in Slovakia who would not be in Slovakia on the day of the referendum will be able to vote in the referendum.[10] Additionally, citizens that are in quarantine will be able to vote.[11] Approval of a referendum in Slovakia requires a double majority: over 50% of registered voters must participate, and a majority of those voters participating.[12]

Proposed changes[edit]

At the beginning of 2021, SMER, Voice – Social Democracy (HLAS), Slovak National Party (SNS), and Socialisti.sk voiced support for a popular initiative referendum to call a snap election.[13] They submitted 585,000 signatures to Čaputová shortly before the resignation of Matovič as prime minister.[13] The proposed question was ruled by the Constitutional Court of Slovakia as "a violation of general constitutional rules" and indicated that the referendum should be constitutional, as the proposed referendum would amend the constitution.[13] A new collection of signatures was organised in August 2022; 406,000 signatures in total were submitted.[14] This time, the organisers proposed two questions, one that would ask for the modification of the National Council to call a snap election and the other that would ask for the resignation of Heger's government.[1] Čaputová decided to submit an initiative to the Constitutional Court regarding the second question, which led to criticism from the opposition.[15][16] The Constitutional Court later ruled the second question as unconstitutional, while Čaputová announced that the referendum would be held on 21 January 2023.[14][17] Heger stated that "snap elections have no place in a democracy".[18]

Question[edit]

The question on the referendum paper was posed as:

Súhlasíte s tým, že predčasné skončenie volebného obdobia Národnej rady Slovenskej republiky je možné uskutočniť referendom alebo uznesením Národnej rady Slovenskej republiky, a to zmenou Ústavy Slovenskej republiky?
"Do you agree that the early termination of the election period of the National Council of the Slovak Republic can be carried out by a referendum or a resolution of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, namely by changing the Constitution of the Slovak Republic?"[19][20]

Reception[edit]

Opinion polls[edit]

Focus conducted an opinion poll in June 2021 in which 52.9% of the voters that they would turn out to vote in a potential referendum, while 33.7% stated that they would not.[21] In November 2022, AKO conducted an opinion poll in which 54.2% of the voters stated that they would turn out to vote in the referendum, while 38.9% of the voters stated that they would not.[22]

Polling organization Date Yes No Don't know Lead
AKO[23] 8–16 November 2021 63.1 34.2 2.7 28.9

Overall positions[edit]

Position Name Ideology Ref
checkY Yes Direction – Social Democracy (SMER–SD) Social democracy [24]
Voice – Social Democracy (HLAS–SD) Social democracy [25]
Republic Neo-fascism [26]
Life – National Party (ŽIVOT) Christian right [27]
Slovak PATRIOT (PATRIOT) Slovak nationalism [28]
Slovak National Party (SNS) Slovak nationalism [29]
Socialisti.sk Democratic socialism [30]
Communist Party of Slovakia (KSS) Communism [31]
99% – Civic Voice (99%) Left-wing populism [32]
National Coalition / Independent Candidates (NK/NEKA) Populism [33]
Slovak Revival Movement (SHO) Neo-fascism [34]
Nation and Justice – Our Party (NAS) Slovak nationalism [35]
Home National Party (DOMOV–NS) Slovak nationalism [36]
☒N Boycott Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OĽaNO) Conservatism [37]
Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) Liberalism [38]
For the People (ZĽ) Liberal conservatism [39]
New Majority (NOVA) Liberal conservatism [40]
Change from Bottom (ZZ) Liberal conservatism [41]
Civic Conservative Party (OKS) Liberal conservatism [42]
Progressive Slovakia (PS) Liberalism [43]
Together – Civic Democracy (SPOLU) Conservative liberalism [44]
Good Choice and Moderates (DV) Technocracy [45]
Hungarian Forum (MF) Minority politics [46]
Civic Democrats of Slovakia (ODS) Conservative liberalism [47]
Chance (ŠANCA) Liberal conservatism [48]
Democrats of Slovakia (DS) Conservative liberalism [49]
Steady Neutral We Are Family (SR) Right-wing populism [50]
People's Party Our Slovakia (ĽSNS) Neo-Nazism [a]
Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) Christian democracy [51]
Alliance Minority politics [52]
HEART–Slovak National Unity–Party of Patriots (SRDCE–SNJ–sv) Slovak nationalism [53]

Results[edit]

Polling stations were opened from 07:00 (UTC+01:00) to 22:00.[54] As only 27% of the electorate turned out to vote while a majority of votes and a minimum of 50% turnout was required to pass the proposal, the referendum failed.[55][56]

ChoiceVotes%
For1,163,58698.44
Against18,3981.56
Total1,181,984100.00
Valid votes1,181,98499.14
Invalid/blank votes10,2650.86
Total votes1,192,249100.00
Registered voters/turnout4,377,56527.24
Source: Volby

Aftermath[edit]

Just days following the failure of the referendum, the National Council voted on 25 January to amend the constitution to allow for snap elections if approved by a three-fifths majority in the council.[57] It was agreed that the next parliamentary election would be held on 30 September 2023.[58]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ ĽSNS did not make its announcement.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Svobodová, Klára (12 September 2022). "Čaputová vypíše referendum, Slovensko bude rozhodovat o změně ústavních podmínek". iROZHLAS (in Czech). Archived from the original on 14 December 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  2. ^ "Slovaquie: le parti anticorruption OLaNO sort vainqueur des législatives". Le Monde (in French). 1 March 2020. Archived from the original on 14 December 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  3. ^ "Législatives en Slovaquie: nette victoire du parti anti-corruption". Le Point (in French). 29 February 2020. Archived from the original on 14 December 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  4. ^ "Coronavirus. Le gouvernement slovaque prête serment masques sur le visage et gants aux mains". Ouest France (in French). 23 March 2020. Archived from the original on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  5. ^ "Slovakia's new government wins mandatory confidence vote". Associated Press. 4 May 2021. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  6. ^ Chatignoux, Catherine (22 March 2021). "Le vaccin russe provoque l'implosion du gouvernement slovaque". Les Echos (in French). Archived from the original on 14 December 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  7. ^ "Le président slovaque nomme de nouveaux ministres dans un gouvernement minoritaire". Zone Bourse (in French). 13 September 2022. Archived from the original on 8 October 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  8. ^ a b "Slovaquie: le parlement vote la motion de censure contre le gouvernement d'Eduard Heger". Le Figaro (in French). 15 December 2022. Archived from the original on 21 December 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Slovak leader sets framework for snap vote after govt falls". Associated Press. 16 December 2022. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  10. ^ "Prezidentka vyhlási referendum na 21. januára 2023". Prezidentka Slovenskej republiky (in Slovak). 3 November 2022. Archived from the original on 20 December 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  11. ^ "NRSR: Špeciálna forma hlasovania pre voličov v izolácii bude platiť i v referende". Národná rada Slovenskej republiky (in Slovak). 10 November 2022. Archived from the original on 14 November 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  12. ^ "Slovakia". IFES ElectionGuide. International Foundation for Electoral Systems. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  13. ^ a b c "Slovaquie: Il n'y aura pas de référendum sur des élections anticipées". Le Courrier d'Europe centrale (in French). 8 July 2021. Archived from the original on 14 December 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  14. ^ a b "Slowakei, 21. Januar 2023 : Verfahren zur Parlamentsauflösung -- [en allemand]". sudd.ch (in French). Archived from the original on 3 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  15. ^ "Prezidentka Zuzana Čaputová vypíše referendum - SME Minúta". SME Minúta (in Slovak). 12 September 2022. Archived from the original on 14 December 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  16. ^ "Slovakia will hold opposition-initiated referendum". The Slovak Spectator. 12 September 2022. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  17. ^ Sybera, Albin (4 November 2022). "Slovak president sets date for referendum on early election". Intellinews. Archived from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  18. ^ Dlhopolec, Peter (10 January 2023). "Slovakia in 2023: Seeking an End to Political Chaos Without Becoming a 'Little Hungary'". Balkan Insight. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  19. ^ Belej Majerčínová, Adriána (29 October 2022). "Ficovo referendum vládu nepovalí: Nasledovalo by ďalšie alebo rozhodnú poslanci". Pravda (in Slovak). Archived from the original on 13 November 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  20. ^ "PETIČNÝ HÁROK: Petícia za vyhlásenie referenda o páde vlády Slovenskej republiky a zmene Ústavy Slovenskej republiky" (PDF). SMER (in Slovak). Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 November 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  21. ^ Krempaský, Ján (27 June 2021). "Väčšina opýtaných chce ísť na referendum. Sociológ však očakáva len tretinovú účasť". SME Domov (in Slovak). Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  22. ^ Katuška, Michal (1 December 2022). "Prieskum: Referendum má potenciál byť úspešné, sociológ Hřích by si na to zatiaľ nestavil". SME Domov (in Slovak). Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  23. ^ "Prieskum: S možnosťou skrátiť volebné obdobie referendom súhlasia dve tretiny opýtaných". SME Domov (in Slovak). 30 November 2021. Archived from the original on 30 November 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  24. ^ "ZÁZNAM: TK predstaviteľov strany Smer-SD - Výzva k referendu". Teraz.sk (in Slovak). 5 January 2023. Archived from the original on 6 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  25. ^ ""DEMOKRAT" HEGER PRIZNAL FARBU, PREDČASNÝCH VOLIEB SA BOJÍ" (in Slovak). HLAS - sociálna demokracia. 9 January 2023. Archived from the original on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  26. ^ Uhrík, Milan (5 January 2023). "Média majú obrovskú moc. Je január a nikde ani slovo o referende" (in Slovak). Republika. Archived from the original on 6 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  27. ^ Géci, Marek (5 January 2023). "Referendum je forma priamej demokracie kde rozhodujú ľudia, preto politici by mali toto právo nechať na občanov, podporovať ich v účasti na referendách a nie ich odhovárať!". ŽIVOT - NS. Archived from the original on 6 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  28. ^ Miroslav Radačovský (18 January 2023). "REFERENDUM 2023". Facebook (in Slovak). Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  29. ^ "SNS vyzýva na účasť v referende každého občana. 🗳️🇸🇰" (in Slovak). Slovenská národná strana. 17 December 2022. Archived from the original on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  30. ^ "VYZÝVAME NA ÚČASŤ NA REFERENDE 21.1.2023" (in Slovak). Socialisti. 10 November 2022. Archived from the original on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  31. ^ "Komunisti vyzývajú k účasti na referende a k spolupráci". Communist Party of Slovakia (in Slovak). 10 December 2022. Archived from the original on 6 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  32. ^ "Vyzerá to tak, že ešte bude "veselo", keď sa Igorko "rozrozpráva"" (in Slovak). 99% – Civic Voice. 4 January 2023. Archived from the original on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  33. ^ "54,2% SLOVÁKOV SA CHCE ZÚČASTNIŤ REFERENDA O SKRÁTENÍ VOLEBNÉHO OBDOBIA TEJTO BANDY" (in Slovak). Národná koalícia / Nezávislí kandidáti. 1 December 2022. Archived from the original on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  34. ^ "Referendum 2023: Zločinci okolo Hegera nám vládnu aj naďalej a Matovič v úzadí poťahuje nitkami". Slovak Revival Movement (in Slovak). 4 January 2023. Archived from the original on 6 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  35. ^ Belousovová, Anna (3 November 2022). "Prezidentka Zuzana Čaputová nebude vyzývať občanov, aby sa zúčastnili referenda o možnom skrátení volebného obdobia, pretože ho vníma ako kampaň jednej strany" (in Slovak). Nation and Justice - Our Party. Archived from the original on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  36. ^ "SLOVENSKO ZA REFERENDUM" (in Slovak). DOMOV - Národná strana. 6 January 2023. Archived from the original on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  37. ^ "OĽANO berie na vedomie rozhodnutie prezidentky vypísať referendum". Teraz (in Slovak). 5 November 2022. Archived from the original on 6 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  38. ^ "SaS voličov na účasť v referende vyzývať nebude,rozhodnutie rešpektuje". Teraz (in Slovak). 3 November 2022. Archived from the original on 6 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  39. ^ "V. Remišová neodporúča zúčastniť sa na referende". Teraz (in Slovak). 4 November 2022. Archived from the original on 6 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  40. ^ Gábor Grendel (3 November 2022). "Januárové referendum o predčasných voľbách bude predvolebnou kampaňou opozície za štátne peniaze. Nezúčastním sa" (in Slovak). NOVA. Archived from the original on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  41. ^ "BUDAJ: Strany na Slovensku organizujú referendá kvôli reklame zadarmo". Teraz (in Slovak). 14 January 2023. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  42. ^ Ondrej Dostál (3 December 2022). "21. januára 2023 má vraj byť pekné počasie. Kam pôjdete na výlet vy?" (in Slovak). Civic Conservative Party. Archived from the original on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  43. ^ "Progresívne Slovensko nepodporí referendum iniciované Smerom-SD". Teraz (in Slovak). 10 June 2022. Archived from the original on 6 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  44. ^ "NEZMYSELNÉ REFERENDUM" (in Slovak). SPOLU - občianska demokracia. 3 November 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  45. ^ Tomáš Drucker (12 November 2022). "Prečo nepôjdem na referendum, ale vyzývam na predčasné voľby v máji 2023". Dennikn (in Slovak). Archived from the original on 6 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  46. ^ "Nepodporuje referendum extrémistov!" (in Slovak). Hungarian Forum. 16 January 2023. Archived from the original on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  47. ^ "Nepodporujeme referendum o predčaných voľbách" (in Slovak). Civic Democrats of Slovakia. 30 June 2022. Archived from the original on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  48. ^ "NEHORÁZNE REFERENDUM" (in Slovak). Šanca. 4 November 2022. Archived from the original on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  49. ^ Ľudovít Kaník (20 January 2023). "Pytali sa ma, či sa zúčastním referenda". Facebook (in Slovak). Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  50. ^ "Kollár o aktuálnej politickej situácii". HNtelevízia (in Slovak). 17 January 2023. Archived from the original on 17 January 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  51. ^ "KDH rozumie sklamaniu ľudí z vlády, účasť v referende nechá na nich". Teraz (in Slovak). 4 November 2022. Archived from the original on 6 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  52. ^ "Mi a Szövetség álláspontja a referendum kapcsán?" (in Hungarian). Szövetség. 18 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  53. ^ "Naše názory". SRDCE–SNJ–sv (in Slovak). 20 January 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  54. ^ "Metodický pokyn na prípravu a zabezpečenie referenda a spracovanie výsledkov hlasovania v referende" (PDF). Ministerstvo vnútra Slovenskej Republiky (in Slovak). January 2023. p. 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  55. ^ "Referendum in Slovakia fails to bring early vote closer". Reuters. 22 January 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  56. ^ S.A, Telewizja Polska. "Slovak constitutional referendum fails due to low turnout: partial results". tvpworld.com. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  57. ^ "Slovakia parliament changes constitution to enable snap vote". ABC News. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  58. ^ "Slovakia's former coalition heads agree to early parliamentary elections". Reuters. 22 January 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
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