Opposition against draft bill on political parties

A new amendment to the law on political parties proposed by the Slovak National Party (SNS) and Smer-SD MPs aiming at introducing a membership threshold for parties running in general and European elections has triggered negative reactions from the opposition. The draft states that the executive body of a political party should have at least nine members, and participation in general or European elections should be conditioned by a minimum number of members or a minimum number of members of its top political body. The amendment will oblige political parties to deposit their money at the State Treasury at an interest rate valid for commercial banks. In addition to donations, parties will have to disclose their loans. The Opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) and We Are Family parties reject the draft, arguing that a political party's participation in Parliament should be conditioned on support from voters rather than on the number of its members. Another opposition party OLaNO, which has 13 members, also criticized the draft. It wants several changes to be incorporated into the coalition amendment such as the obligation for parties to publish all their contracts and a list of all their members on the internet and for a transparent bank account in which the public would be able to see all transactions. If they are accepted, OLaNO will support the amendment.