'A Prayer a Day' for Slovak Politicians

Disillusioned Slovaks are turning to the power of prayer in the hope of cleaning up politicians widely regarded as corrupt.

More than 400 people have vowed to pray for the politician of their choice for at least five minutes a day for six months since the Internet initiative was launched on Tuesday by Slovakia's Christian Youth Communities Association.

"Some people choose their favorite politician, while others might pray for their least favorite lawmaker in order to change their behavior," association spokeswoman Maria Janusova told Agence France Presse.

She declined to name the politicians who have mustered the most prayers so far.

"As Christians, we believe that if we unite in prayer, we can make a change," Janusova explained.

The group's website, where people can sign up for the initiative adds: "We believe that God wants values such as justice, honesty and respect for life to be recognized in politics."

Slovak politics were rocked to the core last year when a secret-service file code-named Gorilla leaked on the Internet revealed alleged links between oligarchs from a private financial group and nearly all of the country's political elite.

The leak has inspired the rise of the Internet-fueled "anti-Gorilla" movement, attracting thousands to rallies in Slovakia's capital Bratislava.

But the protests ended shortly after the March 2012 elections, in which voters ousted the center-right government and handed an unprecedented victory to leftist Robert Fico and his Smer social democratic party, which survived the scandal.

More than a year after the scandal erupted, police are still investigating and have yet to press charges.

In the 2011 census, 62 percent of Slovakia's 5.4 million citizens said they were Roman Catholic, while 5.9 percent declared themselves Protestant.