Slovak President Calls Referendum for July 4, Excludes Early Elections Question

Slovak President Peter Pellegrini announced he will call a referendum for July 4, initiated by the opposition Democrats party. The referendum will include only two of the three originally proposed questions, as the president rejected the question about shortening parliament's electoral term for being unconstitutional. The Democrats is a liberal opposition party that has been pushing for the referendum as a way to challenge the current government. Under Slovakia's constitutional system, the president has the authority to review referendum questions for constitutional compliance before officially calling the vote. The exclusion of the early elections question significantly reduces the political impact of the referendum, as it was likely the most contentious and politically significant of the proposed questions.