Romani activist will seek to become chair of Progressive Slovakia party

After Michal Truban, chair of the Progressive Slovakia party, announced his resignation on Monday, 9 March, the name of his first possible successor became known. Irena Biháriová, who ran in fourth place on the party’s candidate list recently, will be fighting for the chair.

Biháriová confirmed that she is throwing her hat into the ring in an interview for the Slovak daily HN. “Yes, I have already announced to members inside the party that I will apply for consideration,” she told the news server.

Officially, however, the process for choosing a new leader had not yet begun as of last week and the new chair will not be definitively decided until the party convention. A new vice-chair will also be chosen on that occasion because the incumbent, Martin Poliačik, has also announced his resignation.

The coalition of Progressive Slovakia and the Spolu (Together) movement won 6.96 % of the vote in the recent election, losing a chance to be seated in the national legislature by less than a thousand votes. They needed 7 % to enter Parliament as a coalition.

Had 926 more voters chosen the coalition, they would now be in the unicameral legislature. Biháriová won 46 798 preferential votes during the balloting.