IFES Election Guide - Election Profile for Czech Republic

Election Profile:

Overview

Results

Of Interest/Links

Sources

Country: Czech Republic
Official Name: Czech Republic
Election Type: Presidential
Date: January 11, 2013

Source for election date

At stake in this election:

The office of President of Czech Republic

Description of government structure:

Chief of State: President Václav KLAUS
Head of Government: Prime Minister Petr NEČAS
Assembly: Czech Republic has a bicameral Parliament (Parlament) consisting of the Senate (Senát) with 81 seats and the Chamber of Deputies (Poslanecká Sněmovna) with 200 seats.

Description of electoral system:

The President is elected by majority vote through a two-round system to serve a 5-year term.
Prime Minister is appointed by the President to serve a 5-year term.
In the Senate (Senát) 81 members are elected by absolute majority vote in single-member constituencies to serve 6-year terms*. In the Chamber of Deputies (Poslanecká Sněmovna) 200 members are elected through a flexible-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms.**

* A second round is held six days later if no candidate receives an absolute majority in the first. One third of the Senate is renewed every two years.

** Electors may cast two preference votes for candidates on their chosen party list. There are 14 multi-member constituencies. Votes are tabulated using the D’Hondt method. A threshold of 5% is required in order for a party to enter the Chamber of Deputies. The threshold is 10% in case of a coalition of two parties, 15% for a coalition of three parties, 20% for a coalition of four or more parties.

Main Candidates in the Presidential race:

Jiří DIENSTBIER
Party: Czech Social Democratic Party / Česká strana sociálně demokratická (ČSSD)
Jan FISCHER
Independent(s): Independent
Táňa FISCHEROVÁ
Party: Key Movement / Klíčové Hnutí (KH)
Vladimír FRANZ
Independent(s): Independent
Zuzana ROITHOVÁ
Party: Christian and Democratic Union – Czechoslovak People’s Party / Křesťanská a demokratická unie – Československá strana lidová (KDU-ČSL)
Karel SCHWARZENBERG
Party: Tradition Responsibility Prosperity 09 / Tradice Odpovědnost Prosperita 09 (TOP 09)
Přemysl SOBOTKA
Party: Civic Democratic Party / Občanská demokratická strana (ODS)
Miloš ZEMAN
Alliance: Party of Civic Rights – Zemanovci / Strana Práv Občanů – Zemanovci (SPOZ)
Jana BOBOSIKOVA
Alliance: Sovereignty - Jana Bobošíková Bloc / Suvernita - blok Jany Bobošíkové

Last Presidential election:

Previously the President of the Czech Republic had been indirectly elected by the Parliament. This election will be the first time that Czech citizens directly elect their President.