PRESIDENT KUCAN REPLIES TO DR BAJUK

Ljubljana, 20 July 2000


It was with astonishment that I received your letter, so much more so due to the unusual content of the Government's resolutions, wrote President of the Republic Milan Kucan in his reply to a letter received from Prime Minister Dr Bajuk on 14 July 2000, in which Dr Bajuk informs the President of the Government's conclusion that Slovenia still does not have an enacted electoral system that would allow for the execution of elections this fall and that elections held under the existing law would not be in accordance with the ruling of the Constitutional Court.

President Kucan wrote that such a conclusion is not in the remit of the Government instead it is exclusively in that of the Constitutional Court, which is integrated into our legal system for the very purpose of determining constitutionality. He also expressed his astonishment at the Government's decision to submit the issue of the electoral system to an international forum prior to a test of constitutionality before the Constitutional Court. In his opinion it is also controversial to request the opinion of an international institution on a decision of the National Assembly ex ante, before the National Assembly had even passed a final decision on Constitutional amendments. In President Kucan's opinion the Government is thus expressing doubts as to Slovenia's maturity and its ability to solve its own problems, at the same time curtailing the reputation and confidence enjoyed by the National Assembly.

President Kucan believes that Dr Bajuk's reference to the Constitutional Oath of the President of the Republic and his obligation to respect the Constitution is completely unnecessary and inappropriate. My respect for the Constitution and my fulfillment of my Constitutional Oath is proven by my work to date, wrote the President, adding that it is the National Assembly that is the competent authority for determining the accountability of the President of the Republic.

President Kucan expects the Government to take into consideration the fundamental provisions of the Slovenian Constitution governing the relations between Constitutional bodies as well as their competencies. In this way the Government will contribute its own share to creating the conditions for the citizens to be able to realize their right to vote as their fundamental political right in an undisturbed manner, and will contribute to the country's stability and its international reputation.