Questions
The first question, on joining NATO, was government-sponsored. It was hypothetical as, under Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar, Slovakia had progressively become a pariah state, [1] and NATO were unlikely to issue an invitation. [2] The second and third questions were related to the first, with the questions deliberately expressed in a manner that deterred 'yes' voters. [3] [4]
- Are you in favour of Slovakia's entry into NATO?
- Are you for placing nuclear weapons on the territory of Slovakia?
- Are you for locating foreign military bases on the territory of Slovakia? [5]
The fourth referendum question was pushed by the opposition. Originally, the president was elected by a three-fifths majority in the National Council, but the polarisation of Slovak politics under Mečiar meant that no candidate could muster 60% support. With Michal Kováč's term running out in March 1998, Mečiar's opponents sought to avoid a vacant presidency, [2] which would allow Mečiar to consolidate his power. [6] By adopting a run-off presidential election, with the two best-placed candidates progressing to the next round, they could unite those opposed to Mečiar in the second round, and defeat him. [2]
- Do you agree that the president of the Slovak Republic should be directly elected by the citizens of the Slovak Republic according to the enclosed proposal for a constitutional law? [5]
Boycott
By holding the referendums on the same day, President Kováč sought to increase the chance of overcoming the 50% quorum for the vote to be legally binding. [2] However, the government interpreted a ruling by the Constitutional Court tendentiously, asserting that, because the referendum couldn't be binding on the constitution, and because the appendix to the fourth question of the referendum did not contain its detailed explanation as the "referendum law" requested (no. 564/1992), the presidential election vote should be cancelled: despite the court's own ruling that this interpretation does not and may not have any influence on this referendum and that referendums already accepted by the President could not be cancelled for that reason. [3] The government distributed ballot papers without the fourth question, [7] but some district electoral commissioners refused to accept ballot papers that didn't include it. [5]
As a result, the opposition urged its supporters to boycott the referendum, which was successful, [3] with only 9.5% of people turning out. [5] The turnout fell far short of the 50% required, and the referendum was declared invalid. On 26 May, in protest at the government's handling of the referendum, the Foreign Minister, Pavol Hamžík, resigned. [5] In July 1997, NATO confirmed that they were inviting the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland to become members, but not Slovakia. A week later, the European Commission did likewise: refusing to invite Slovakia to join the European Union, due to failing the 'democratic criteria', but inviting the three surrounding countries, Estonia, and Slovenia. [2]
Vladimír Mečiar is a Slovak former politician who served as the prime minister of Slovakia from June 1990 to May 1991, June 1992 to March 1994, and again from December 1994 to October 1998. He was the leader of the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS), a populist party in Slovakia.
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Mikuláš Dzurinda is a Slovak politician who was the prime minister of Slovakia from 30 October 1998 to 4 July 2006. He is the founder and leader of the Slovak Democratic Coalition (SDK) and then the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union. From 2002 to 2006, his party formed a coalition government with the Christian Democratic Movement, the Alliance of the New Citizen and the Party of the Hungarian Coalition.
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A referendum on the method of the election of the president was held in France on 28 October 1962. The question was whether to have the President of the French Republic elected by direct popular vote, rather than by an electoral college. It was approved by 62.3% of voters with a 77.0% turnout. The reform was controversial because it strengthened the executive at the expense of Parliament, and because of the disputed constitutionality of the procedure used.
A constitutional and electoral age referendum was held in Denmark on 28 May 1953. Both proposals were approved by voters, leading to both a new constitution taking effect on 5 June, and the electoral age being lowered from 25 to 23 years, also starting on 5 June. Voter turnout was 59.1% for the constitution question and 57.1% for the voting age question.
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A referendum on the Spanish NATO membership was held in Spain on Wednesday, 12 March 1986. Voters were asked whether they ratified the national Government's proposal for the country remaining a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which it had joined in 1982.
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A six-issue referendum was held in Cambodia on 3 October 1945. The questions included whether the country should become independent, and whether the presence of foreign military forces should be refused. There were no "no" votes to any of the questions, although two had one or two invalid votes. Voter turnout was 80.3%.
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This article summarises referendum laws and practice in various countries.
An Icelandic Constitutional Council (Stjórnlagaráð) for the purpose of reviewing the Constitution of the Republic was appointed by a resolution of Althingi, the Icelandic parliament, on 24 March 2011. Elections were held to create a Constitutional Assembly (Stjórnlagaþing) body, but given some electoral flaws, had been ruled null and void by the Supreme Court of Iceland on 25 January 2011, leading the parliament to place most of the winning candidates into a Constitutional Council with similar mission. The question of whether the text of the proposed constitution should form a base for a future constitution was put to a non-binding referendum, where it won the approval of 67% of voters. However, the government's term finished before the reform bill could be passed, and following governments have not acted upon it.
A referendum on banning same-sex marriage was held in Slovakia on 7 February 2015. Critics claimed the referendum was pushed by religious and conservative organisations, aiming to block gay couples from gaining more rights.
The 1997 Madrid summit was a meeting of the heads of state and heads of government of the sixteen members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and their partner countries held in Madrid, Spain, on 8–9 July 1997. It was the 15th NATO summit and the second in 1997, the previous one being held in Paris. The summit was notable for inviting three new members, Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic to join the alliance.
A referendum was held in the Republic of Macedonia on 30 September 2018, with voters asked whether they supported EU and NATO membership by accepting the Prespa agreement between Macedonia and Greece, signed in June 2018, which aimed to settle the 27-year naming dispute, which had prevented Macedonia from joining both the European Union and NATO. Despite 94% of voters voting in favour, voter turnout was around 37%, less than the 50% threshold required to validate the results.
