At stake in this election:

• The office of President of Czech Republic

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Vaclav KLAUS
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Petr NECAS
• Assembly: Czech Republic has a bicameral Parliament (Parlament) consisting of the Senate (Senat) with 81 seats and the Chamber of Deputies (Poslanecka Snemovna) with 200 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by parliament to serve a 5-year term.
• Prime Minister is appointed by the President to serve a 5-year term.
• In the Senate (Senat) 81 members are elected by absolute majority vote in single-member constituencies to serve 6-year terms*. In the Chamber of Deputies (Poslanecka Snemovna) 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:

• Karel SCHWARZENBERG
  • Party: Tradition Responsibility Prosperity 09 / Tradice Odpovědnost Prosperita 09 (TOP 09)
• Miloš ZEMAN
  • Party: Party of Civic Rights – Zemanovci / Strana Práv Občanů – Zemanovci (SPOZ)

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. The first round of voting was held on 11 and 12 January 2013.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 10,514,272 (2013)
• Registered Voters: 8,435,522 (January 2013)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 5,348,968 (2013)

·         Is Czech Republic a signatory to CEDAW: No

·         Has Czech Republic ratified CEDAW: Yes, succession (22 February 1993)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 44 (Chamber of Deputies); 4 (Senate) (following the 2010 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 28 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Very Low (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Czech Republic a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Czech Republic ratified CRPD: Yes (28 September 2009)

·         Population with a disability: 1,577,140 (est.)