Opposition Freedom and Solidarity and OLaNO-NOVA party MPs have called on President Andrej Kiska not to sign an amendment to Parliament's Rules of Procedure which was adopted on Wednesday. At the same time, the opposition has filed a motion to the Constitutional Court regarding the new set of rules. Opposition MPs said they will turn to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg if the changes are applied in practice.
"Despite the opposition's resistance, the [ruling] coalition has approved a law that is aimed at muzzling us. They want to turn Parliament into an automatic voting machine that will approve only coalition proposals," OLaNO-NOVA MP Veronika Remisova told a press conference.
Under the amended law, banners, leaflets and audio-visual presentations will not be allowed during parliamentary sessions any more. Moreover, there will be time limits on the speeches of MPs, parliamentary deputy speakers and government ministers, while the time allotted to the president, prime minister and speaker of parliament will not be restricted. The speaker will also be allowed to launch disciplinary proceedings against unruly MPs.
