A petition-driven vote drew broad attention but only 16.1 percent of voters turned out, preventing any binding decision and deepening political polarisation.
In Slovakia on Saturday a referendum was held that was meant to determine the fate of lifetime payments to the populist Prime Minister Robert Fico and other political leaders after their terms ended. Slovaks were also asked to answer questions about abolishing or restoring the Office of the Special Prosecutor and the National Criminal Agency, which dealt with major crime and corruption cases. However, turnout proved to be too low to yield a valid result under the law.
According to Slovakia’s Statistical Office, turnout stood at 16.1% with 99.5% of precincts counted, while the threshold for validity was at least 50% voter participation.
At the same time, citizens voted on restoring the Office of the Special Prosecutor and the National Criminal Agency – both bodies investigate serious crimes and corruption.
The referendum was initiated by a petition led by the Democrats party, a non-parliamentary pro-Western opposition; signatures under it gathered more than 350,000 citizens in a country with a population of about 5.4 million. This is the number that meets the legal threshold for holding a referendum.
Historically, this is already the tenth referendum in Slovakia; only one of them – in 2003 regarding the country’s membership in the European Union – was successful. Other referendums typically failed due to low turnout.
Lifetime payments to prime ministers and other officials after the end of their terms provide a monthly amount equal to the salary of members of parliament. The payments were introduced after an assassination attempt on Robert Fico in 2024; previously such payments were available only to former presidents until 2024.
At the beginning of 2024, lawmakers backed the coalition government’s plan to abolish the Office of the Special Prosecutor, which handled corruption and crime cases, and also dissolved the related police unit. The law sparked sharp criticism both domestically and abroad, and thousands took to the streets in protests. Some individuals linked to the Fico party found themselves under investigation for corruption and other crimes.
Although the referendum did not come into effect due to low turnout, it highlighted sharp political disagreements in Slovakia regarding payments to former leaders and the effectiveness of the institutions responsible for investigating corruption. The country continues to discuss future political trajectory and reform of the rule-of-law system, leaving the question open.