Voice: No Coalition Appointments Until Deal on House Chair Concluded First (2)

Bratislava, November 26 (TASR) - Lawmakers of Voice-SD won't take part in votes on personnel appointments of any kind, which have been postponed by Parliament for quite some time, until the coalition arrives at an agreement on the new Parliament chair first, Voice-SD chair Matus Sutaj Estok declared at a press conference on Tuesday. Sutaj Estok plans to discuss the issue with SNS chair Andrej Danko. "After yesterday's session of the the coalition council and also a session of Voice-SD leadership, we agreed that Voice and its 27 lawmakers won't participate in any votes on personnel appointments, postponed by Parliament for quite a few weeks, until the deal on the Parliament's chair nomination is clinched," said Sutaj Estok. There are several pending personnel-related votes, which the House hasn't yet concluded, such as the election of Slovak Television and Radio (STVR) board members. According to Sutaj Estok, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) declared that he will support any agreement reached by Voice-SD and SNS on the House chair post. "I will discuss the issue in the foreseeable future with SNS chair Andrej Danko," claimed the Voice-SD leader. He reiterated that Voice-SD will determine whom to nominate for the second most senior constitutional post, as the coalition agreement stipulates that the position belongs to Voice-SD, and this deal should be hammered out by the end of the year. "Despite a minor technical stumble, the coalition is firm and stable," stated Sutaj Estok, alluding to the fact that Parliament hadn't opened up its session on the first attempt. With its narrowest possible majority of 76 votes, the coalition lacked a single vote, when MP Lubomir Vazny (Voice-SD) failed to take part in the vote by mistake. Sutaj Estok praised Danko for what he sees as a "clear invitation" for legislators, centred around Rudolf Huliak, to return back to the SNS caucus. "I think this is a good opportunity for the SNS caucus to resolve the situation and hence restore the governing coalition officially to 79 lawmakers again," added the Voice-SD chair. mf/mcs