Tens of Thousands Rally in Slovakia, Demand Early Election
Weeks of political crisis were sparked by the slayings of an investigative journalist and his fiancee
Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets in Slovakia Friday to call for snap elections, saying the prime minister’s resignation is not enough to address their concerns following the murder of an investigative journalist. In a third day of demonstrations, protesters rallied in 35 towns and cities. About 50,000 people gathered in the capital, Bratislava, despite Thursday’s resignation of Prime Minister Robert Fico and his government. Demonstrators chanted “early elections’’ and said the whole government needs to change. Investigative journalist Jan Kuciak, 27, and his fiancee were found shot to death at home last month. Kuciak reported on fraud allegations against businessmen with political ties, and protesters have demanded a through investigation of his killing as well as of the alleged government corruption. Police said Kuciak’s death was most likely related to his investigation into alleged ties between top Slovakia politicians and the Italian mafia. Nobody has been charged in the killings. On Thursday, Slovak President Andrej Kiska accepted Fico’s resignation and asked Peter Pellegrini, Fico’s deputy prime minister, to form a new government. The move keeps the government’s current three-party coalition in power and avoids an early election. This week’s demonstrations have been the largest in Slovakia since the 1989 Velvet Revolution that toppled Communism in the former Czechoslovakia.