Six Parties to Promote 'I Jingle for Change' Anti-corruption Measures

Bratislava, March 1 (TASR) – Six political parties – Most-Hid, Siet (Network), OLaNO-NOVA, SaS, KDH and SMK – have pledged to promote anti-corruption measures via the ‘I Jingle for Change’ initiative after Saturday’s general election.

Initiative representatives at a press briefing in Bratislava on Tuesday reported that two months ago they approached eight political parties with chances of getting into Parliament after the March 5 vote. The initiative has put forth 22 anti-corruption measures concerning the police, public supervision of public affairs, prosecutors, increasing the responsibility of courts, making the Supreme Audit Office (NKU) more functional and on revealing the ownership of letterbox companies, for example.

Ctibor Kostal from the Slovak Governance Institute (SGI) notes that after the election the initiative will approach parties that have committed themselves to pursue the aforementioned goals in order to carry out specific moves. Parties in Government after March 5 should attempt to push the measures through into the Government Manifesto. And even if these parties aren’t part of the Government, they could have enough potential in Parliament to promote anti-corruption measures, said Kostal.

“We’ll help them to draw up individual legislative proposals to make them specific – strong enough and real – in order to introduce changes,” said Kostal.

The ‘I Jingle for Change’ initiative was launched in November by SGI, Pontis Foundation, Stop Corruption Foundation and Via Iuris. ‘Jingling’ alludes to the November 1989 Velvet Revolution, when people gathered in main squares and jingled their keys.