The referendum held on Saturday in Slovakia to amend the constitution and make early elections possible did not reach the quorum. According to the Slovak Electoral Commission, 27.3 percent of eligible voters took part in the consultation, well below the threshold of 50 percent plus one to make the outcome of the referendum valid; 97.5 percent of the participants had voted “yes”. The consultation was supported by opposition parties and opposed by the majority of the outgoing government.
The referendum was called by the president of Slovakia, Zuzana Caputova, last month after three opposition parties had collected the necessary signatures to organize it. The Slovak constitution does not provide for the possibility of early elections, consequently the question asked to change the rules. However, in Slovakia there could be early elections in 2024 if the parliament votes on a change to the constitution.
The outgoing government of Eduard Heger, of the populist-inspired Common People party, fell in mid-December after a months-long political crisis. The proposal to amend the constitution had been tabled before the government lost a vote of confidence in parliament. President Caputova then gave parliament until the end of January to make a snap election possible, leaving Heger to handle day-to-day affairs. In the absence of a parliamentary provision, Caputove will proceed to appoint a new prime minister.
