Slovenians narrowly rejected a government bill in a referendum Sunday, dealing a blow to nationalist Prime Minister Janez Jansa’s reform agenda, which the opposition has denounced as “authoritarian”.
The proposal had been to expand the powers of parliamentary inquiry commissions, but 51 percent of voters rejected it, to 49 percent in favour, with 99 percent of the votes counted in the binding referendum.
Had the proposed law been approved, individuals summoned to testify before parliamentary inquiries would have had to appear immediately, with no right to challenge the summons in court until the commission had completed its work.
The opposition, arguing that those called to testify might be compelled to disclose sensitive information, said the government was effectively setting up a “political police“.
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Media and analysts had predicted a low turnout, but partial results put voter participation at 53.7 percent of eligible voters, the highest-ever turnout for a referendum in Slovenia.
Jansa came to power after liberal ex-prime minister Robert Golob failed to form a government despite his party’s narrow victory in March parliamentary elections.
The political veteran, an admirer of US President Donald Trump, promised a “cheaper state but with better quality”.
Jansa has proposed cutting public-sector jobs and cutting funding for rights groups, drawing criticism from his political opponents.
In the run-up to the vote, opposition leader Golob had warned that the two million people in the EU member country faced “a real test of how resilient Slovenian democracy is”.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
