The election of the mayor of Vojany is null and void

By the action brought in the matter of the constitutionality and legality of the elections to the local self-government bodies of the municipality of Vojany, the plaintiff pointed to the results of the elections published by the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic, according to which in the election of the mayor of the municipality of Vojany, the defendant obtained 133 votes and the plaintiff 129 votes, while 394 envelopes were issued and handed in at the election. The number of valid ballot papers for the election of the mayor of the municipality was 364.

On the basis of an assessment of the invalid ballot papers, on which the serial numbers of several candidates were circled by different pens, the court concluded that the ballot papers had been invalidated to the detriment of the plaintiff by the additional circling of the serial numbers of other candidates, which could have occurred either immediately after the voters had voted in the portable ballot box (outside the control of all the members of the electoral commission) or when all the votes cast at the polling station were counted. The number of ballot papers thus ‘cross-checked’ exceeds the difference in the election result between the plaintiff and the defendant.

The Supreme Administrative Court of the Slovak Republic also took into account the other circumstances established, namely the appointment of three members of the local election commission by the defendant (the mayor of the municipality) in excess of the law, as a result of which two members of his family and one municipal employee gained access to the ballot papers and the counting of the votes, and the presence of such an additional member during the voting of the voters in the portable ballot box, after which a space was created for the handling of the ballot papers cast outside the control of the election commission.

No appeal shall lie against the decision of the Panel. The written reasons for the decision shall be published within the statutory period of 30 days from the date of its pronouncement.

In the election action Peter Vajda c/a Štefan Czinke, the Panel No. 14 of the Supreme Administrative Court was composed of: the President of the Panel JUDr. Marián Trenčan (Judge-rapporteur) and the members of the Panel JUDr. Katarína Cangárová, PhD., LL.M., JUDr. Petra Príbelská, PhD., JUDr. Marián Fečík, Prof. JUDr. Peter Potásch, PhD.