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Opposition: We Won't Nominate SPF Members Prior to Elections
Thursday 18 February 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, February 18 (TASR) - Opposition parties SDKU-DS, Christian Democrats (KDH) and ethnic-Hungarian SMK won't nominee their candidates for membership in the Slovak Land Fund (SPF) in this election term, SMK caucus leader told TASR on Thursday in response to Parliament Chairman Pavol Paska claims that the Opposition hasn't nominated its candidates through which it is blocking SPF running.
"Those who have been nominated were misused for political purposes and for covering what was happening at SPF," Bardos said, adding that they were only showpieces and were not allowed to work properly at SPF. Parties have the right not to nominate their candidates, he added.
At the same time, Bardos disagreed with Paska's claim that the SPF Board would be blocked. The shoe has been on the other foot and Government in the past has gone months without nominating its people, according to Bardos.
"We won't provide camouflage for the skulduggeries involving the property of Slovak people. SPF is under Smer's control," SDKU-DS caucus leader Stanislav Janis told TASR.
The election of the new members of the SPF Board is to take place at the next parliamentary session (the last before the general elections on June 12) that begins on March 2.
The coalition members of the SPF Board were dismissed at the beginning of December, while the remaining two opposition members resigned on their own initiative. The changes in the SPF management followed scandals at the Fund linked to media reports of suspect land transfers in the High Tatras.
The Government approved its new candidates on February 5. The board, whose role is to supervise SPF's activities, is supposed to have 11 members in total. Six of these are nominated by the Government, and the other five by the parliamentary committee for agriculture - three coalition nominees, and two opposition. Parliament has to approve all nominations before the board members are appointed.
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