A comparison of pre-election programs of all 18 candidate parties has shown that SaS and SDKÚ-DS are the parties with the highest quality programs in the fight against corruption. Together with two parties KDH and Most – Híd (3rd and 4th place) offer sufficiently extensive programs to reduce the level of corruption in Slovakia in case of participation in the government.

Programs of the other parties contain only the minimum of draft measures and refer to a general reference of the need to do something. ĽS-HZDS, which according to opinion polls has the best chance to get into Parliament, is the party with the weakest public anti-corruption program. (Click on the table right)

At average, the most elaborate area was the judiciary, which according to the parties absent greater transparency (publication of judgments, recording the hearing) and quality of judgments (a stricter and more open selection of judges, evaluation of judges) in accordance with the recommendations of the TIS. The second best covered area was the access to information where disclosure of all contracts relating to public finance dominates between proposals in a user-friendly database on the Internet. However, the parties at least specifically devoted to the problem of corruption in the activities of local and regional authorities and completely ignored the need to tighten controls and establish an independent oversight of the party financing.

In assessing the effectiveness of solutions, we based on recommendations which TIS includes in a document called Anti-corruption minimum 2010.

See the selection of anti-corruption parts of the electoral programs in terms of corruption.

According to evaluation of GRECO, Slovak republic implemented satisfactorily only one of the sixteen recommendations contained in the Third round evaluation report, on which were national authorities noticed two years ago.

Recommendations were related to increasment of transparency in party funding and more complex legal arrangements on corruption incrimination in the Penal Code. In the first area Slovak republic did not fullfil any recommendation, in the second area only one recommendation satisfactorily and three partly.

Press release (in Slovak)

Compliance report on the Slovak republic – Third evaluation round

List of activities of public administration bodies (under Government decision 323/2007 on state policy in fight against corruption) (in Slovak)

Following recent debate about selection the position of chair of the Office for Public Procurement as well as work and functioning of the office TIS instead of political nomination recommends  to select the chair by selection procedure, together with the condition of expertise of candidate in the the field.

In our opinion, in past 4 years no steps to eliminate of corruption in this field was carried out, the same evidence provides actual opinion poll according to which public do not perceive improvement and 3/4 of  respondents are convinced that corruption in public procurement occur often or rather always. The extent of procurement in public sector is approximately 5 mld. annually.

TIS presented 15 measures how to eliminate corruption and increas transparency in public procurement, e.g. to establish responsibility of the office for effectivity of procurement by law, to sum up and make clear legislation and information about tenders and to make e-auctions mandatory.

Press release (in Slovak)

Transparency International in cooperation with 9 national chapters and with the support of experts and practicioners from around the world draw up principles for whistleblowing legislation. The principles are meant to be guiding principles which should be adapted to individual countries specific contexts and existing legal frameworks.

On November 17 TIS organized press conference to present Corruption Perception Index 2009. TIS informed about historical decrease of Slovak republic in the internationally most cited survey on corruption  as well as measures to reverse this situation.

TIS recommends:

1. to increase transparency of financial information (central publishing of state aid, european tenders, at the level of local government until publishing of invoices),
2. to procure in transparent and efficient way (to make e-auctions mandatory, to cancel category of non-priority services),
3. to implement transparent mechanisms into judiciary (regular and measurable assessments of judges, to release this evaluation, make records of legal proceedings and judgements and their release),
4. electronization of  bureaucracy (construction offices, car registration, municipal offices),
5. to tighten up controls of party financing, conflict of interest and property statement).