Interior Minister Mikulec Survives No-confidence Vote in Parliament
Bratislava, February 23 (TASR) – Interior Minister Roman Mikulec (OLaNO) withstood the opposition’s no-confidence motion in him, as Parliament failed to dismiss him, with only 50 of the 126 MPs present voting in favour of his ouster.
A total of 62 MPs voted against the motion, 13 chose to abstain and one didn’t vote.
In addition to opposition MPs, head of the coalition ‘We Are Family’ caucus Peter Pcolinsky and MP Adriana Pcolinska (‘We Are Family’) also voted for Mikulec’s ouster. Other ‘We Are Family’ MPs abstained or weren’t present at the vote.
The no-confidence motion in Mikulec was initiated by the opposition Smer-SD party with the support of Independent MPs. According to Fico, Mikulec “coordinated the activities of elite inspectors of the National Crime Agency (NAKA), who have been attempting to destroy the opposition, including Smer-SD”. The special session on Mikulec’s ouster started last Friday (February 18) and has continued on Tuesday (February 22) and Wednesday.
Prime Minister Eduard Heger (OLaNO) said that the opposition is lying and misleading in connection with the special House session with a no-confidence motion in Interior Minister Roman Mikulec.
The premier thanked MPs who confirmed Mikulec’s remaining in the post. Mikulec declared his support for all investigators who carry out their work legally.
“We witnessed a House meeting convened with calculated purposes,” said Heger, adding that the opposition wanted to send a signal to all those who committed crimes when the opposition was in power not to confess because they are fighting for them. In addition, he sees their intention in intimidating honest investigators. Heger said that the opposition leaders are capable of everything. According to the premier, this proves that the current Government is “on the right side” but also what would await the country if the opposition came back to power.
Mikulec also mentioned a twisted story that was heard during the session, claiming that he used facts and especially the statements of courts in his defence because the courts are the only institution deciding on guilt and innocence. He pointed out that Bratislava Regional Court had clearly ruled on the innocence of the investigators. However, according to him, the opposition is comfortable adjusting the facts. “They live in a twisted world, they have twisted values. This is shown by more than 30 people who have confessed over the past two years to committing crimes under their leadership,” he added.
