Slovaks to vote in a July referendum on lifelong payments for Prime Minister Fico and others

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BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovakia will hold a referendum this summer to decide whether to cancel lifelong payments for populist Prime Minister Robert Fico and other leaders after their terms in office expire, the country's president said Monday.

According to President Peter Pellegrini, the vote is set for July 4. Slovaks will at the same time also vote on whether to reopen the office of the special prosecutor that used to deal with major crime and corruption.

The referendum follows a petition organized by the Democrats, a non-parliamentary pro-Western opposition party, and signed by more than 350,000 citizens, the threshold required by law.

However, Pellegrini said the referendum would not ask people whether they support an early parliamentary election. Based on a 2021 ruling by the country’s highest legal authority, the Constitutional Court, such a question is unconstitutional, he said.

Slovak prime ministers and parliament speakers who served at least two terms in office receive a lifelong payment — a monthly sum that equals the salaries of lawmakers in Parliament — as part of measures to boost security for leading politicians.

The payments were introduced following a 2024 assassination attempt on Fico, who was shot and gravely wounded at a pre-election event, shocking the small country and reverberating across Europe. Before, the benefit was provided only to former presidents.

Later in 2024, Slovak lawmakers approved a plan by Fico's coalition government to abolish the special prosecutors’ office, which handles serious crimes such as graft, organized crime and extremism.

The legislation faced sharp criticism at home and abroad while thousands of Slovaks repeatedly took to the streets to protest the law. A number of people linked to Fico’s party faced prosecution in corruption scandals.

Only one referendum in Slovakia's history — the 2003 vote on the country's European Union membership — was successful. Others failed due to low turnout.

Fico has been a divisive figure since returning to power in 2023. His pro-Russian and other policies prompted numerous protests.