Slovakia votes against gay marriage, referendum falls flat

Ban on gay marriages and child adoptions fails because the turnout for the referendum was less than the minimum 50% threshold requires to make it valid

8 February 2015, 9:27am
by Staff Reporter

2 min read

A referendum intended to cement a ban on gay marriage in Slovakia has fallen flat due to a low turnout.

A referendum intended to cement a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and adoption in Slovakia fell flat on Saturday after the vote attracted far less than the minimum 50% of voters necessary to make it valid, partial results showed.

Socially conservative Slovakia does not allow gay marriages or civil unions, nor adoptions by same-sex couples. Spearheaded by the country’s conservative party, the referendum sought to strengthen these bans through a popular vote that would make it more difficult to change the legislation in the future.

However, results showed that only 21.07% turned out for the vote, well short of the 50% threshold required for the vote to be valid. Nevertheless, initial results show that 95% of those who voted backed a 2014 constitutional amendment which defines a marriage as a man and wife – effectively banning same-sex unions and adoption by gay couples.

The majority of the voters also said yes to the referendum’s three questions: whether marriage can only be a union of a man and a woman, whether same-sex couples should be banned from adoptions, and whether children can skip classes involving education on sex and euthanasia.

The campaign was part of a conservatives’ push in Eastern European countries, including Hungary and Croatia, against what they see as overly liberal policies spreading eastwards in the two decades since the European Union expanded to include former Communist states.

While conservatives pitched their campaign as "say 'yes' for the family", gay rights advocates, liberal elites, and part of the media encouraged people to vote with their feet by boycotting it.

The group behind the referendum, Alliance for the Family (AZR), argued that the traditional family is under threat and points to an increasing number of countries, including neighbouring Austria and the Czech Republic, that allow various forms of same-sex unions, or child adoption by gay couples.

It put a brave face on the result, saying holding the referendum was a success in itself.