BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) 鈥� Slovaks will cast the ballot on Saturday in a referendum to decide whether to cancel lifelong payments for populist Prime Minister and other leaders after their terms in office expire.
They will also vote on whether to reopen the office of the special prosecutor and the National Criminal Agency, which both dealt with major crime and corruption.
The referendum follows a petition organized by the Democrats, a non-parliamentary pro-Western opposition party, and was signed by more than 350,000 citizens in the nation of 5.4 million, the threshold required by law.
Only one referendum in Slovakia鈥檚 history 鈥� the 2003 vote on the country鈥檚 European Union membership 鈥� was successful. Others failed due to low turnout.
Polls suggested Saturday鈥檚 turnout would not reach the required 50%.
Slovak prime ministers and parliament speakers who served at least two terms in office are entitled to receive a lifelong payment 鈥� a monthly sum that equals the salaries of lawmakers in Parliament 鈥� as part of .
The payments were introduced following a 2024 , who was shot and gravely wounded after a government meeting, shocking the small country and reverberating across Europe. The benefit was provided only to former presidents before 2024.
Earlier in 2024, Slovak lawmakers approved a plan by Fico鈥檚 coalition government to , which handles serious crimes such as graft, organized crime and extremism and the government also dismantled the police unit dealing with such crimes.
The legislation faced sharp criticism at home and abroad, and thousands of Slovaks repeatedly to protest the law. A number of people linked to Fico鈥檚 party faced prosecution in corruption scandals.
Fico has been a divisive figure . His pro-Russian and other policies .
Fico said he would not vote in this referendum.
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