The opposition extra-parliamentary For the People (Za ludi) party has called on Interior Minister Denisa Saková, who is running as an Smer-SD candidate in the upcoming elections, to apologise for her statements regarding Slovaks living abroad who intend to vote by post. A video appeared on the internet on Saturday, in which Saková can be heard saying to an audience that the upcoming general election will be "a bit more curious" because roughly 60,000 people have applied to vote from abroad by post. "I really only call on you, let's not allow such people, who live abroad..." says Saková in the video. However, the footage doesn't continue further as it ends right in the middle of Saková's statement.
The Interior Minister stated in her reaction for TASR press agency that the majority of voters abroad have been mobilised by the opposition, adding that she, as an candidate of the governing Smer-SD party, wants to mobilise voters living in various regions of Slovakia so that the election isn't decided only by "people from Bratislava." Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini (Smer-SD) spoke in support of Saková on Monday, stating that she didn't say anything wrong and that she was only motivating people to take part in the election.
Meanwhile the civic Initiative SrdcomDoma.sk, which has been active in mobilizing Slovaks living abroad to vote, plans to address the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs in this regard. According to the initiative, candidate Saková is active in the election campaign, while the Interior Ministry whom she leads is in charge of organizing the elections and also of securing them for Slovaks living abroad.
