Voting is a right, not an obligation, says Prime Minister

To vote is a right, not an obligation, but it is still in the interests of Slovakia that the number of citizens participating in the regional elections does not decrease, stated Prime Minister Robert Fico on Tuesday, in the lead up to the November 4 regional elections. "We should really increase our participation in regional elections. Otherwise, the level of representation in the regions will be very low; not to mention the European Parliament elections, in which we're always Europe's champions in terms of the lowest turnout," said Fico. The premier further admitted that the current model of eight regions emerged as a compromise, and that people haven't really become accustomed to it. With this in mind, he didn't rule out discussions on how Slovakia should be divided into regions in the future.