BRATISLAVA, August 27, (WEBNOVINY) — Prime Minister Robert Fico has on Monday spoken in support of President Ivan Gasparovic, who decided to not appoint Jozef Centes the new prosecutor general even after the Constitutional Court dismissed on Friday the complaint of ex-PG Dobroslav Trnka. Trnka complained to the Constitutional Court over what he believes was a violation of his right to access to elected and other public offices. He insisted that the post belongs to him because parliament incorrectly counted ballots last May.
Fico however considers the president’s decision legitimate. “We are waiting for more important decisions of the Constitutional Court than individual constitutional complaints,” said Fico. The most important decision that the Constitutional Court is to make according to Fico is to say whether the president has the right or a duty to appoint the candidate for the prosecutor general post that parliament offers to him. According to Fico, this is not obvious while such motion has been lodged with the Constitutional Court. “It will be decisive and therefore the procedure of the president is absolutely legitimate,” he said.
The prime minister believes that also the current parliament could have elected a new candidate for new prosecutor general. “There was no obstacle at the first session of parliament to repeatedly elect a candidate for the prosecutor general post, we would have canceled the decision on the election of Mr. Centes and submitted this decision together with a new candidate to the president,” Fico stated. He specified that they did not do so because they want to wait until the Constitutional Court makes its decision in which it will order the president to appoint Centes or give him a choice to appoint him or not. “Then we will wait for the decision of the president. If he has to approve Centes, then he will appoint him. If he is able to decide we will wait for his decision on whether he will confirm Mr. Centes or say that he will not appoint him and then the turn will come for another election of a candidate in parliament,” said Fico.
The Constitutional Court has dismissed on Friday Trnka’s complaint, in which he doubted that the prosecutor general post belongs to Jozef Centes, whom parliament elected a candidate for the post last June. Since then, he is waiting for his appointment by the head of state but in vain so far. However, Centes cannot be sure even following the Constitutional Court’s decision that President Ivan Gasparovic will appoint him to the post. The president believes that the Constitutional Court should first decide on all complaints concerning the prosecutor-general vote, which also includes submissions by Centes and a group of MPs. The president uses against Centes his own motion to the Constitutional Court, in which he complains about Gasparovic’s inactivity. Also opposition parties SDKU, KDH, Most-Hid and SaS have lodged a motion with the Constitutional Court asking it to say that the president is obliged to decide on the new prosecutor general without unnecessary delay.
SITA