In Slovakia, calls are growing for political parties to halt campaigning ahead of European Union elections, which are just three weeks away, following an assassination attempt on the country’s highly polarized prime minister.
Slovakia’s next president, Peter Pellegrini, and others have said the measure was taken to avoid further inflammatory political debate, which has escalated since the shooting that seriously injured Prime Minister Roberto Fico. claims it is necessary. At least one opposition party, the Progressive Slovak Party, announced that it would suspend its campaign immediately to “bring an end to the spiral of attacks and accusations.”
Local news media reported that another political party, the Christian Democratic Movement, had also suspended its election campaign.
It is not clear how long such a suspension will last or what impact it will have on Slovakia’s participation in EU elections, which are held every five years. Voters across the European Union will elect 720 members of the European Parliament, with voting to take place from June 6 to 9 in all 27 EU member states. Voters in Slovakia are scheduled to cast their votes on June 8th.
Most candidates in EU elections are drawn from established national parties, so voters tend to be familiar with their agenda. Therefore, the temporary suspension of campaigning will not necessarily affect the ability of Slovak voters to decide who to support, as long as campaigning resumes and elections are held as planned.
Officials from the European Parliament and the European Commission did not respond to requests for comment on calls to halt the campaign or whether it could influence the European Union vote.
National election authorities are responsible for processing votes, and results are administered locally. The number of members of the European Parliament that each country can elect depends on its population size. Germany, the largest country, has the most MPs, with a total of 96. Slovakia, which is much smaller, elects 15 members to the European Parliament.
