Slovak politicians began discussing a possible change of the rules of the European Parliament election in order to make it more attractive for voters in reaction to the record low turnout of 13.05 percent in the election this weekend. Some Slovak politicians said people might be more interested in the EP election if they voted personalities rather than parties.
”I agree that with such a low number as 13 MEPs for Slovakia, personalities might be elected directly”, Richard Sulík, leader of the opposition liberal Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), told the public Slovak Radio. Monika Flašiková- Benová (Smer-Social Democracy), who defended her seat in the European Parliament, shares this view. ”People should be given a chance to make a choice similar to the municipal election”, she said. The mayors of Slovak towns are elected directly. The head of state and the governors of self-rule regions are elected directly, too. The Slovak parliament has been dealing with a draft amendment to the election law, which would unite the rules for various elections. This amendment does not include any change to the election of Slovak MEPs, however. Under the present system, Slovaks vote political parties in the EP election. However, they may give preferential votes to individual candidates. Sulík won a seat in the EP thanks to preferential votes. In the new 751-member European Parliament, Prime Minister Robert Fico´s Smer-Social Democracy will have four seats while two opposition parties gained two seats each. Other five political subjects got one MEP each.
