A referendum to abolish Prime Minister Robert Fico’s lifetime benefits after his resignation fails due to low turnout. The Associated Press reported that voter turnout after processing results from 99.5% of polling stations was 16.1%.
In order for the referendum to be recognized as valid, it was necessary for at least 50% of the country’s population on the voter lists to participate in it.
The same referendum raised the issue of resuming the work of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which deals with serious crimes and corruption. The decision by Fico’s government to abolish the Special Prosecutor’s Office sparked massive protests in Slovakia several years ago.
The requirement to pay lifelong payments to the Prime Minister appeared after his resignation in Slovakia in 2024 following the assassination attempt on Robert Fico, as a result of which the Prime Minister was seriously injured. Former Slovakian heads of government are supposed to receive a monthly pension equivalent to the salary of a member of parliament for the rest of their lives. Until 2024, lifetime payments were only offered to former presidents of Slovakia.
The issue of abolishing lifetime payments to heads of government was put to a referendum after more than 350 people signed a petition drawn up by Fico’s political opponents. In total, 5.4 million people live in Slovakia.
Only one out of ten referendums in Slovakia’s history has been recognized as valid, the vote in 2003 on the country’s accession to the European Union. In other referendums, the turnout rate was very low.