Slovakia's prime minister Robert Fico is stepping down following protests sparked by the murder of a journalist investigating alleged links between politicians and the Mafia.
Photo: AFP PHOTO / VLADIMIR SIMICEK
The 27-year-old journalist, Jan Kuciak, was working on a story linking high-level political corruption in Slovakia with the Italian mafia when he was killed in late February.
Police believe it was a contract killing. His fiancée, Martina Kusnirova, was also murdered in an attack at their home.
On 9 March tens of thousands of Slovaks joined a protest rally in the capital Bratislava, in what is thought to be the largest demonstration in the country since the fall of Communism in 1989.
Seven suspects arrested in connection with the murders were released without charge last week, and President Kiska called for fresh elections or a "radical reconstruction" of the government to restore public trust.
Mr Fico announced his resignation this morning, having offered a day earlier to resign if the ruling coalition was allowed to finish its term.
President Andrej Kiska said he would ask Deputy Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini to form a new government.
The prime minister argued those options would undermine the results of the 2016 elections, and accused the president of "dancing on the graves" of the victims.
Mr Pellegrini and his new government will now have to pass a parliamentary vote of confidence.
The prime minister designate believes he already has the 79 votes needed to approve his new cabinet.
- BBC
