Some 4.5 million voting citizens are called upon in Slovakia today, Saturday, to decide on a constitutional amendment in a referendum. Proponents want to use the constitutional amendment to allow early elections in Slovakia, as is customary in other EU countries.
Until now, the Slovak constitution stipulated that the parliament, which is elected for four years, cannot be dissolved prematurely, even if a government falls apart and no majority is found for a new coalition. With around 400,000 voter signatures, the left-wing opposition forced a referendum to change that.
Bratislava is currently governed by a three-party conservative-populist coalition that no longer has a parliamentary majority. According to all polls, there is a risk of collapse if there are new elections. For this reason, the governing parties tried to prevent the referendum from being successful until the end. It is only valid if at least 50 percent of those entitled to vote participate. Aside from a referendum on EU membership 20 years ago, this level of participation has never been reached. The next regular election date would not be until 2024. Polling stations are open on Saturday from 7 am to 10 pm.