Eastern Slovakia regions compete to establish ombudsman office after years of Bratislava monopoly

Several regions in eastern Slovakia are now competing to establish a regional ombudsman office, years after the capital Bratislava first introduced such a position. The ombudsman function, which handles citizen complaints and oversight of public administration, has been operating in Bratislava for years while eastern regions lacked this service. The competition among eastern Slovak municipalities and regions appears focused on attracting voters by promising to establish this citizen advocacy role, though parliamentary representatives were notably excluded from the selection process for the new position.