On Tuesday afternoon, the members of the National Council (NR) of the Slovak Republic did not start deliberations at an extraordinary meeting to recall the deputy chairman of the National Council of the Slovak Republic Tibor Gašpar (Smer-SD) from his position. The MPs rejected the program of the meeting, the Chairman of the National Assembly of the Slovak Republic Richard Raši (Hlas-SD) therefore closed the meeting. The motion to dismiss Gašpar was submitted by a female MP from the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS). The reasons are related to the case of Purgatory, in which Gašpar appears as a defendant.
- Members of the National Council rejected the program of the extraordinary meeting to dismiss Tibor Gašpar.
- Tibor Gašpar faces indictment in the Očistec case for allegedly leading a criminal group.
- Progressive Slovakia announces repeated motions to recall Gašpar until he is indicted.
- Opposition leaders accuse Gašpar of abusing the vice-presidential position for his own defense.
- The opposition accuses the coalition MPs of protecting the defendant Gašpar and weakening the rule of law.
Female deputies see Gašpar in the position of deputy speaker of the parliament in his public appearances and political activities so far an attempt “to use his work in the NR SR to enforce actions that may have a direct or indirect connection with his own criminal case or with criminal proceedings conducted against persons from his close environment”. According to them, this raises legitimate doubts as to whether the performance of the position of Deputy Speaker of the Parliament is not being abused to promote personal interests.
“It is essential to ensure that representatives of the National Council of the Slovak Republic perform their functions in a manner that does not raise doubts about their integrity and respect for the principles of the rule of law.” stressed the members of the PS in the justification of their proposal.
Gašpar perceives the attempt to recall him as an attempt to cover up the case of the mother of the opposition PS leader Michal Šimečka. Last week he also spoke about the opposition and media hysteria towards his person.
The main hearing in the Purgatory case started on Monday (June 8). The case concerns suspicions of the alleged creation and operation of a criminal group within the highest ranks of the police and security authorities between 2012 and 2018.
The opposition PS wants to submit proposals for the dismissal of the deputy chairman of the National Council (NR) Tibor Gašpar (Smer-SD) repeatedly until he is indicted. This was stated by PS leader Michal Šimečka after Tuesday’s unsuccessful attempt to negotiate the dismissal of Gašpar at an extraordinary meeting.
„The Slovak Parliament has already experienced several dramatic moments, but it has never happened that on one day a member of parliament listened to the indictment for forming a criminal group in court and on the next day led a meeting of the National Assembly of the Slovak Republic. We are concerned with protecting the good name of this institution, which is tarnished by his accusation. That is why we will try to recall Gašpar at the next meeting in September,” pointed out Šimečka. As long as Gašpar is indicted, according to him, the PS will submit proposals for his recall at every opportunity until the elections.
The PS emphasized that it does not want to take away the mandate that the people gave him in the elections. “However, we do not agree with how he is abusing his position in parliament for his own defense. This conflict of interest alone is enough for him to resign,” emphasized the head of the movement.
„It is really shameful that an extraordinary meeting was not opened to remove Tibor Gašpar from the post of deputy speaker of the parliament. And we are surprised by the government deputies that they pressure the Smer party and Tibor Gašpar, who is accused of corruption and organized crime, in such a way. It’s not just us who say it anymore, the prosecutor in the Purgatory case also says it,” declared Kolíková, adding that the parliament is changing the laws in such a way that they “help the defendants escape guilt”.
The head of the KDH, Milan Majerský, criticizes that Gašpar has so much media space and can defend himself and develop directly in the parliament. “It is unfair, Smer should withdraw him for the time until the trial is over, and Tibor Gašpar should not currently be the vice-chairman of the National Council,” Majerský thinks.
The leader of the Slovakia Movement, Igor Matovič, emphasized that Gašpar does not have the courage to defend himself before the parliament. He also criticized the opposition partners from SaS and PS for continuing to go to talk shows with Gašpar. He claims that they create space for him to manipulate public opinion. Matovič is convinced that Gašpar committed the acts for which he is accused. “After all, there are already x people in that case who are convicted, who confessed, who said yes, they were part of it, how he took bribes from tax fraudsters for not investigating them,” he said, saying that Gašpar, as the police chief, had betrayed his mission.
Member of Parliament Veronika Remišová (Slovakia – For the People) added that the position of deputy speaker of the parliament requires high moral integrity and respect for the principles of the rule of law. “Tibor Gašpar does not fulfill these attributes, but is the embodiment of their exact opposite,” he thinks.
