Nad: Top Officials Got Intel on Russia's Plan to Aid Smer with Election Fraud

(Markiza, Na telo, May 28) The three top constitutional officials have received intelligence indicating that Russia harbours plans to manipulate election in Slovakia to the benefit of Smer-SD party of Robert Fico, former defence minister (2020-23) and MP Jaroslav Nad (Democrats) declared on TV Markiza's politics talk show 'Na telo' (Tough Questions) on Sunday. According to Nad, a specific individual received a financial reward to help manipulate the upcoming election in September. Ex-interior minister (2012-18) Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD), also on the show, called the claim a "nonsense". He added, however, that Smer-SD is concerned about potential election fraud too, but one committed by the state, due to the gradual digitisation of election systems. "We've received intelligence from abroad, which specified the person, place and time, when the Slovak national went to Russia to pick up financial resources for the election manipulation to the benefit of Smer-SD political party. If there's someone who intends to manipulate the election, it is Russia and it's using its Trojan horses to do that, including the political party Smer-SD," said Nad, adding that the information is being investigated by the police already. Kalinak replied that Smer-SD has never accepted any external money. "This is incredible gibberish you spout every day from sunrise till sunset, but you never say anything specific, it's always just a confidential source," he said. Kalinak reiterated that there are concerns of the upcoming election manipulation by state bodies. In this context, he stated that such a fraud likely happened during the 2003 referendum on Slovakia's joining of the EU, but "no one has any interest in a thorough investigation into that". Nad responded that if Kalinak had held such suspicions, he should have had them investigated, seeing as Kalinak had served as the interior minister in 2006-10 and 2012-18. Because of this, Nad declared that the 'Democrats' party will file a criminal complaint against Kalinak. "I let it go, so as not to have our accession to the EU impugned," claimed the ex-interior minister. Kalinak called claims that Smer-SD plans to abolish the direct election of the president a nonsense and a "nice election hoax". He underlined that the party has always embraced a democratic political competition. Nad said that the existence of such a plan was confirmed by several sources from inside Smer-SD, yet he refused to name them. The debate broached also on the murder of journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee. Kalinak claimed that there are scenarios that the investigator had ignored on purpose during the investigation. Nad replied that Kalinak was only attempting to "befog the investigation". Kalinak also stated that he doesn't find it a good idea for the new president to grant amnesty to former special prosecutor Dusan Kovacik. "I think he'll get out (of jail) by employing legal action," he added. mf