there was almost no chance of a resolution to the crisis in Thursday's vote. The impasse forms part of a deeper political crisis in which Mečiar has been accused of backsliding on democracy for cancelling a referendum on changing the method of selecting the president to a direct vote of the people. The referendum was seen by the opposition as a way out of the constitutional crisis. With a three-fifths majority required in parliament to elect a new president and no parliamentary grouping strong enough to muster such support, the assembly has already held three unsuccessful ballots and compromise between opposition and government is unlikely. Each round of voting consists of two ballots. Mečiar's spokesman said the government had agreed to field a candidate in the next round. The government would need opposition votes to push any candidate through but the opposition has said it would under no circumstances support Mečiar. There is no provision in the constitution to break the deadlock and an unlimited number of new votes could take place.