A proposal to extend the election period in municipalities from four to five years has already been submitted to the parliament. It was submitted by a group of members of the National Council (NR) of the Slovak Republic for Hlas-SD, including the chairman of the National Council of the Slovak Republic Richard Raši, co-presenter is Roman Malatinec (unclassified). To change, it is necessary to amend the Constitution of the Slovak Republic, so on approval will also need the votes of the opposition. If the change can be approved, the extension of the election period should apply from the autumn elections.
The length of the election period of the municipal or city council, the mayor of the village, or the mayor of the city, as well as the council of the higher territorial unit (VÚC) and the chairman of the VÚC is to be increased from the current four to five years. According to the presenters, the proposal is the result of professional and political discussions in the environment of local and regional self-government. The change is intended to strengthen the stability of local and regional self-governmentincrease the continuity of strategic management and create better conditions for long-term planning and the responsible fulfillment of territorial development priorities.
“The current length of the electoral period creates an objective mismatch between the political mandate of elected representatives and the cycle of strategic management of territorial development, which in practice leads to decision-making discontinuity, delays in project implementation and a reduction in the efficiency of public investments.” recalled the deputies in the explanatory report.
According to them, most of the key strategic documents of local governments are designed in a five-year time horizon. They added that in the past the election period was extended once by the higher territorial unit (VÚC). The extended election period of the VÚC self-government bodies was between 2017 and 2022. “The extended mandate can be evaluated positively, even with the passage of time, because we have demonstrably not witnessed any negative impacts, influences and externalities,” stated the presenters.
If approved, the new legislation should apply from June 15 of this year. This means that in the combined municipal elections, which will be held on October 24, voters could choose their representatives for five years. At the same time, the MPs presented an amendment to the Act on Municipal Establishment, which also changes the Act on the City of Košice. They want to eliminate the inconsistency in the legislation. In the act on municipal establishment, the mention of the length of the election period of the municipal council is deleted.
“The length of the electoral period of the bodies of territorial self-government is established by the Constitution of the Slovak Republic. It is therefore not necessary to state it in duplicate in the Act on Municipal Establishment. At the same time, in the parallel submitted draft amendment to the Constitution of the Slovak Republic, it is proposed to extend the electoral period of the bodies of territorial self-government to five years, as a result of which the regulation in the Act on Municipal Establishment would not be in accordance with the Constitution.” explained the presenters. In the Act on the City of Košice, parts of the provisions regulating the length of the election period of the city council and local council are deleted.
