Who decides the final ballot text when the initiative is put to a vote?

President does not change the proposed question(s) submitted to referendum by the National Council’s resolution or a popular petition.

The President may ask the Constitutional Court to verify the constitutionality of the resolution or petition for a referendum. If the court rules that the request for a referendum is unconstitutional, the referendum may not be held. There are no explicit provisions on how to revise and re-submit the referendum questions. (Art. 41f-41h, Act on the Constitutional Court)

The text of the referendum question(s) are formally announced in the Official Gazette (Art. 2, Referendum Law). The Central Commission for Referendum is responsible for formatting the ballot and providing guidance on how to vote (Art. 15, Referendum Law).

REFERENDUM LAW

(Adopted 1992; last amended 2011)

http://www.minv.sk/?referendum

Article 1

(3) Ak sa m?referendum vyhl?siť na z?klade pet?cie, postupuje sa pri v?kone petičn?ho pr?vapodľa tohto z?kona a podľa osobitn?ho z?kona. S pet?ciou, ktor? žiadavyhl?senie referenda, sa občania obracaj? na prezidenta Slovenskej republiky.

(4) Ot?zka alebo ot?zky predložen? na rozhodnutie vreferende musia byť formulovan? tak, aby na ne bolo možn? jednoznačne odpovedať'?no' alebo 'nie'. Ot?zky nesm? byť navz?jom podmienen?.

Article 2

(1) Referendumsa vyhlasuje ozn?men?m v Zbierke z?konov Slovenskej republiky.

(2) V ozn?men?o vyhl?sen? referenda sa uvedie:

a)      na n?vrh koho sa referendum vyhlasuje a deň prijatia uznesenia N?rodnejrady Slovenskej republiky alebo deň prijatia pet?cie občanov,

b)      ak? ot?zka alebo ak? ot?zky sa občanom predkladaj? na rozhodnutie,

c)       lehota na vytvorenie okrskov na konanie referenda,

d)      lehota na vytvorenie org?nov pre referendum a na ich prv? zasadanie,

e)      deň konania referenda,

f)       deň vyhl?senia referenda.

(3) V pr?pade,že predmet referenda je obsiahlejš? a ot?zka predložen? na referendum potrebujebližšie vysvetlenie, uvedie sa toto v pr?lohe ot?zky; pr?loha je s?časťouozn?menia podľa odseku 2.

Part 5: KONANIEREFERENDA

Article 15 Hlasovacie l?stky

(1) Nahlasovacom l?stku mus? byť uveden?:

a)      deň konania referenda,

b)      ot?zka alebo ot?zky; ak je viac ot?zok, označia sa poradov?mi č?slami. Prikaždej ot?zke sa vytlačia dva r?mčeky, z ktor?ch jeden je nadp?san? slovom'?no' a druh? slovom 'nie',

c)       poučenie o sp?sobe hlasovania.

(2) Každ?hlasovac? l?stok mus? byť opatren? odtlačkom pečiatky ?strednej komisie aodtlačkom ?radnej pečiatky obce.

(3)Ministerstvo vn?tra Slovenskej republiky zabezpeč?, aby sa hlasovacie l?stkyvytlačili a v potrebnom množstve doručili obci.

ACT ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT

(Adopted 1993; last amended 2004)

http://portal.concourt.sk/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=3604914

Second Heading: Specific Provisions

Third Section: Proceedings on the subject of a referendum

Article 41f

(1) A motion to startproceedings on the conformity of the subject of a referendum, which shall beannounced under special regulation, may be submitted to the ConstitutionalCourt by the President of the Slovak Republic prior to declaring a referendum,if he/she has doubts on whether the subject of the referendum is in conformitywith the Constitution or a constitutional law.

(2) Besides the generalrequirements set out in ? 20 (1), the motion shall contain:

a)     the subject of the referendum

b)     the legal basis for announcing the referendum

c)      the reasons leading the applicant to doubt the conformity of the referendumsubject with the Constitution or with constitutional laws.

Article 41g

(1) The Constitutional Court shalldecide on the motion within 60 days of its delivery.

(2) The Constitutional Court,prior to its decision, shall require the opinion of the National Council of theSlovak Republic, if the referendum is to be announced on the basis of itsresolution, or the opinion of the Referendum Petition Commission establishedunder special regulation, if the referendum is to be announced on the basis ofa citizens? petition.

Article 41h

(1) The Constitutional Courtshall decide on the merits of the case by a finding, which shall be sent to theapplicant and to the National Council of the Slovak Republic, or to thePetition Commission if the referendum is to be announced on the basis of acitizens? petition.

(2) If the ConstitutionalCourt decides that the subject of the referendum is not in conformity with theConstitution or with constitutional laws, such a referendum cannot beannounced.