The proposal matters as it could reshape participation ahead of the next parliamentary elections in 2027 in the country of 5.4 million people. Demonstrators gathered outside parliament in the capital, while similar protests took place in Košice, Banská Bystrica and abroad, including Brussels and Prague. Critics argue that the move targets pro‑Western voters, while Prime Minister Robert Fico says it aims to prevent fraud.
Opposition leader Michal Šimečka told the Bratislava crowd that democracy was at stake, drawing parallels with recent political shifts in Hungary. In the 2023 parliamentary election, almost 59,000 Slovaks abroad voted by mail, with over 80 per cent backing opposition parties and just 6.1 per cent supporting Fico’s Smer‑SD party.
