In a symbolic show of defiance, President Ivan Gasparovic has refused to give the thumbs up for Jozef Centes in the post of Attorney General, even though he was voted into the post in line with the valid secret vote procedure of the Parliamentary Rules of Procedure.
Gasparovic says he will wait until the Constitutional Court deals with the official complaint from interim AG Ladislav Tichy. The President had a face-to-face with parliamentary chairman Richard Sulik today, at which Sulik handed over a 76 MP majority for Centes’ appointment.
Sulik feels it is the President’s duty to appoint Centes immediately, especially as the Constitutional Court retracted its preliminary injunction as it was about a public vote and not a secret one. More a head-to-head, Sulik’s meeting with Gasparovic produced no results.
Gasparovic remains adamant about waiting for a ruling, which is expected in September, but it is all part and parcel of the battle over the Attorney General throne. Basically the essence of the petition to the Constitutional Court has ceased, but one never knows when you clutch at Slovak straws.