Slovakia to vote in July referendum on scrapping lifelong payments for politicians

Published on 20/04/2026 - 21:32 GMT+2

Slovakia volition clasp a referendum successful summertime to determine whether to cancel lifelong payments for Prime Minister Robert Fico and different leaders aft their presumption successful bureau expire, the country's president said connected Monday.

According to President Peter Pellegrini, the ballot is scheduled to instrumentality spot connected 4 July.

At the aforesaid time, Slovaks volition besides ballot connected whether to reopen the bureau of the peculiar authoritative that utilized to woody with large transgression and corruption.

The referendum follows a petition organised by the Democrats, a non-parliamentary pro-Western absorption party, and signed by much than 350,000 citizens, the threshold required by law.

However, Pellegrini said the referendum would not inquire radical whether they enactment an aboriginal parliamentary election.

Based connected a 2021 ruling by the country's highest ineligible authority, the Constitutional Court, specified a question is unconstitutional, helium said.

Slovak premier ministers and parliament speakers who served astatine slightest 2 presumption successful bureau person a lifelong payment, a monthly sum that equals the salaries of lawmakers successful Parliament, arsenic portion of measures to boost information for starring politicians.

The payments were introduced pursuing a 2024 assassination effort connected Fico, who was changeable and gravely wounded astatine a pre-election event, shocking the state and reverberating crossed Europe. Before, the payment was provided lone to erstwhile presidents.

Later successful 2024, Slovak lawmakers approved a program by Fico's conjugation authorities to abolish the peculiar prosecutor's office, which handled superior crimes specified arsenic graft, organised transgression and extremism.

The authorities faced crisp disapproval astatine location and overseas portion thousands of Slovaks repeatedly took to the streets to protestation against the law. A fig of radical linked to Fico’s enactment faced prosecution successful corruption scandals.

Only 1 referendum successful Slovakia's history, the 2003 ballot connected the country's European Union membership, was successful. Others failed owed to debased turnout.

Fico has been a divisive fig since returning to powerfulness successful 2023. There person been galore protests against his perceived pro-Russia stance.