Grendel: LSNS Caucus Will Be Dissolved as Kotleba Has Lost Seat in House

Bratislava, April 19 (TASR) – Head of the People’s Party Our Slovakia (LSNS) Marian Kotleba, who was found guilty of sympathising with a movement aimed at suppressing fundamental human rights and freedoms by the Supreme Court in early April, has officially lost his seat in Parliament, which means that the LSNS caucus will be dissolved as a result, Parliamentary Vice-chair Gabor Grendel (OLaNO) announced on Tuesday, claiming that he’s signed the decision on behalf of Parliamentary Chair Boris Kollar (We Are Family).

Grendel explained that Kotleba has lost his seat in line with the Constitution for being convicted of a deliberate crime. Because the LSNS caucus has lost a member and it doesn’t have the minimum number of MPs required by the law, the caucus will be dissolved and LSNS MPs will become Independents.

According to Parliament’s website, a notification concerning the ruling of the Supreme Court in Kotleba’s case was delivered to Parliament on Tuesday. The notification reads that an MP loses his or her seat in Parliament on the day when a verdict that sentences the lawmaker over an intentional crime comes into force, “which means that MP Marian Kotleba lost his seat on April 5, 2022.”

With Kotleba’s departure from the House, the LSNS caucus has only seven members. According to Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, a caucus must have at least eight members.

Kotleba should be replaced in the House by Slavena Vorobelova, who’s stated for TASR that she intends to take up the post but added that she wasn’t certain whether she’ll actually cooperate with the members of the now former LSNS caucus. According to her, she’ll make a decision based on the outcome of her talks with the MPs in question.