Bratislava, Slovakia — thousands of protesters slovakia Rallies were held in the capital and other parts of the country on Tuesday against a controversial plan by the populist prime minister. robert fico Ending mail voting for Slovaks living abroad.
The rally outside the parliament in the Slovak capital Bratislava began with applause. Weekend elections in neighboring Hungary to that ousted populist leader viktor orbanRejected his authoritarian rule in favor of a pro-Europe candidate.
Fico has been a divisive figure at home and abroad Since returning to power in 2023. His pro-Russian and other policies inspired many protests. Critics say his autocratic rule is inspired by Orbán.
Tuesday’s protest was the latest in a series of demonstrations against Fico’s policies. Opposition parties say his latest plan targets pro-West voters, while Fico claims the move is to “prevent fraud and manipulation”.
Michal Simecka, leader of the opposition Progressive Slovakia party, which organized the protest along with three other political groups – Freedom and Solidarity, Christian Democrats and the Democrats – told the crowd in Bratislava that what was at stake was democracy, as was the case in Hungary’s election.
He said that with the proposed law, “thousands of Slovaks living abroad will be prevented from voting” and the crowd chanted, “Shame, shame.”
“It is clear that they are doing this because they are afraid,” Szymska said of the authorities and the draft bill, which is supposed to be up for debate during the current parliament session.
“They are afraid of the people, they are afraid of the elections, they are afraid of losing,” he said.
The only option for Slovaks to vote abroad would be to cast their ballots at Slovakia’s embassies.
In the 2023 parliamentary election, about 59,000 Slovaks living abroad voted by mail. Fico and his Smar or Direction party received only 6.1% of that vote while opposition groups received more than 80%.
The next elections in Slovakia, a country with a population of 54 lakh, are to be held in 2027.
Slovaks also rallied on Tuesday in the cities of Kosice and Banská Bystrica, as well as in Brussels and the Czech capital Prague.
