Slovakia: Roma Initiative chair says low Roma turnout part of Kotleba's win

The TASR press agency reports that Slovak Government Plenipotentiary for Roma Community Affairs Peter Pollák believes the election of ultra-right politician Marián Kotleba (People’s Party "Our Slovakia") to chair the Autonomous Region of Banská Bystrice (Banskobystrický samosprávny kraj – BBSK) is because that the Romani issue has gone unaddressed in Slovakia for the past 22 years. Václav Kappel, chair of the Romani Initiative of Slovakia, has criticized Romani voters for not turning out to vote against Kotleba.    

Kappel believes Kotleba’s election is a catastrophe. He told TASR the election result is the fault of the right wing, who in his view did not take a clear enough stand on the side of Kappel’s opponent, Social Democrat Vladimír Maňka, thereby giving tacit support to Kotleba.

"I am also blaming the Romani residents of the Banská Bystrice region who did not turn out to vote and were not concerned about the fact that dire consequences are really in store now," Kappel said. He believes things will get even worse now for the Romani residents of the region, who already live in poverty.   

"They should have turned out to vote in droves, not just waited for someone to buy their votes. All of that should have stopped long ago," Kappel said. 

Slovak Government Plenipotentiary for Roma Community Affairs Peter Pollák believes people are frustrated by politicians’ empty promises. "The people in BBSK have essentially expressed their disagreement with the standard political parties who have failed to address the Romani issue for 22 years. They have voted for someone offering populism and simple solutions," Pollák told TASR. 

The Plenipotentiary went on to say he cannot predict how the situation in tbe BBSK will develop. "This must be a warning to all, everyone in this country, politicians in particular, must realize it is no longer possible to ignore the Romani issue," he emphasized.  

Pollák also added that he had proposed legislative reforms on the Romani issue to the government a year ago. "I believe that everyone who is responsible, including the deputies of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, will approve the laws that are coming to parliament," he said.

Posting to his Facebook profile, Pollák said he will be closely following the steps taken by the incoming regional governor. "I will be one of the first to file criminal charges should the law be broken in Banská Bystrice. I expect the governor of Banská Bystrice to respect the law – and not only in his approach to the Romani issue – and I expect him to adopt measures that will not restrict or violate fundamental freedoms and rights or unnecessarily escalate tensions in communities," the Plenipotentiary said.