Ljubljana - MPs will vote on an impeachment motion against Prime Minister Janez Janša at a parliamentary session starting on Monday, 17 May, the college of deputy leaders decided today. The motion had been filed by the opposition Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ), Social Democrats (SD), Left and the Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB).

The four centre-left parties tabled the motion at the start of April, asking the National Assembly to impeach Janša before the Constitutional Court, and accusing him of violating several articles of the constitution and laws, pertaining to healthcare, media, prosecution and human and constitutional rights.

In their motion, they also accuse the government of having seized all the powers to manage the Covid-19 epidemic and of failing to order Slovenia's share of Covid-19 vaccines in full. They also criticise it for exerting pressure on the media and prosecution.

The parties say the Health Ministry failed to order an additional, optional 900,000 doses of Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines in December 2020, presuming the cheaper AstraZeneca jabs would have become available in the meantime. AstraZeneca later supplied less than planned.

The allegation of interference in the media focuses on the suspension of financing of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) for the public service, which is in contravention of the STA law and the 7th Covid-19 relief law.

The government is also accused of breaking the legislation on prosecution by failing to appoint five out of ten prosecutor candidates put forward in the autumn and "dragging its feet" in the appointment of the country's two European delegated prosecutors.

Responding on his Twitter account when it was presented, Janša called the motion yet another "pathetic move" aimed at destabilising the country during the epidemic, which he said followed the failed vote of no-confidence in him, "media murders of the coalition partners DeSUS and SMC, and a series of failed motions of no-confidence".