Slovakian parliament blocks presidential impeachment

The Slovakian parliament voted not to file for the impeachment of President Ivan Gasparovic, in a secret ballot held Monday March 18, Internet news daily, The Daily. SK reported.

“The filing of a complaint with the Constitutional Court requires agreement of minimally 90 out of 150 lawmakers,” The Daily.SK wrote. “However, only 45 MPs supported the proposal in a secret ballot, 78 were against it, which means that not even all opposition lawmakers supported the initiative.”

The vote on whether to impeach Gasparovic was taken as a result of his refusal to nominate Attorney General-elect Jozef Centes for the job, despite a Constitutional Court ruling demanding  that Gasparovic give the job to Centes or present valid reasons against such a move.

The President’s decision reportedly came as no surprise in Slovakia due to the popular belief that Gasparovic is in the Prime Minister Robert Fico’s camp.

Fico’s candidate for the post of Attorney General, Dobroslav Trnka, was beaten by Centes in a secret ballot held on June 17, 2011.