Only 12 candidates have submitted their candidacy to become Constitutional Court judges as of midday on Tuesday, only hours before the deadline to do so expires. Subsequently, candidates will undergo hearings before the parliamentary constitutional committee. These should take place between March 21st and 23rd , but the duration of the hearings will depend on the number of candidates who apply. MPs should elect 18 candidates and submit them to the president, who will appoint nine of them to replace judges whose term in office expired in mid-February. This is the second attempt of MPs to find candidates for the most important court in Slovakia. Last month 38 candidates were on the list but MPs from the largest coalition party Smer cast empty ballots in protest that the vote was public. The opposition was displeased with former Prime Minister Robert Fico's candidacy. This time he is not running again.
On Monday President Andrej Kiska called for potential candidates for the Constitutional Court to apply to take part in the new vote. "I want to encourage lawyers that applied for the first vote, but also others, to apply for the second vote ... so that Parliament can elect eighteen candidates and the president can appoint nine judges," stated Kiska, adding that Slovakia deserves the best possible judges on the Constitutional Court. He has stated that he understands the disgust and mistrust that was caused by the first vote, but "decent people shouldn't give up on Slovakia".
