BRATISLAVA (Reuters) - The Slovak parliament voted to lift the immunity of former interior minister Gustáv Krajči and thus opened the way for a possible prosecution over a disrupted 1997 referendum on presidential elections. Deputies voted by 83 to 52 to lift the parliamentary immunity from prosecution hitherto enjoyed by Krajči, who was interior minister until the nationalist government of former prime minister Vladimír Mečiar was voted out last September. It was the first time the chamber has lifted a deputy‘s immunity and followed an appeal from police investigators. Police have said they want to bring charges against Krajči over the alleged thwarting of the referendum in May 1997. The referendum included three questions on whether Slovakia should join NATO and a fourth, initiated by the then opposition, on whether the president should be directly elected rather than by parliament. At the last moment, Krajči ordered the fourth question removed, plunging the vote into chaos. The referendum was largely boycotted and later declared void. Krajči insisted his actions were in line with a ruling by the Constitutional Court. The affair sparked harsh Western criticism. Slovakia was the only post-Communist state excluded from membership of NATO and the European Union for political failings. Police also wanted parliament to lift the immunity of former state security service (SIS) chief Ivan Lexa, who became a deputy for Mečiar‘s party after its election defeat. The police said senior SIS officers coordinated the 1995 kidnapping of the son of former president Michal Kováč. Last Wednesday, the government published a report, excerpts of which appeared in Slovak newspapers last week, on the activities of the SIS under Lexa. According to the report, undertaken by new SIS head Vladimír Mitro, the SIS hatched plans to encourage neo-fascist movements in the neighbouring Czech Republic, and attempts to blacken neighbouring Hungary‘s name in the region and to sow distrust between Austria and Germany. "The report shows the SIS was acting illegally, deliberately ignoring the legal order in Slovakia, including the constitution," Dzurinda told a news conference. The cabinet issued a statement, distancing itself from the activities of the former SIS leadership. Foreign Minister Eduard Kukan said the statement would be delivered to the foreign ministries of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria. "Despite that the current government does not carry any responsibility for former activities (of SIS), it feels a duty to express itself on the matter," Kukan said.