Slovenia’s highest court rejects motion to ban opposition parties – EURACTIV.com
The Slovenian Constitutional Court rejected an initiative to ban two left-wing opposition parties for failing to condemn communism, a ruling passed just before the official start of the election campaign.
As six to three judges called for the dismissal, the court ruled that political parties should be free to design their programs and how they choose to influence political discourse, with the state having to refrain from intervening. A decision released on Wednesday (March 23rd) said a ban on political parties could only be a “last resort”.
The petition against the Left and the Social Democrats was filed by Vili Kovačič, a well-known activist who successfully conducted two referendums in 2017 and 2018, and Luka Perš, a former rapporteur for the pro-government Nova24TV.
They argued that the Left’s program was unconstitutional after the change because it advocated the transfer of company ownership to the state and local communities. The SD was also accused of being the successor to the “criminal League of Communists” and of “glorifying totalitarianism”.
But while petitioning as a citizen in court, they were loudly addressed by prominent figures on the right, empowered by a recent ruling by the European Court of Human Rights banning the Romanian Communist Party.
Both parties condemned the petition as an attempt to undermine the election.
“I am pleased that the Constitutional Court has recognized the intention of the petitioners: to pay attention to the abuse of the law in order to exclude opponents from the election race or from political life in general,” said Left leader Luka Mesec.