Cibulka files complaint with Constitutional Court

Former dissident Petr Cibulka has filed a legal complaint with the country’s Constitutional Court, the Czech news agency reported on Sunday. Mr Cibulka filed the complaint two days earlier, questioning whether 50,000 signatures needed by independent candidates to run for president (unlike candidates nominated by a political party) was constitutional. Mr Cibulka, who had aspirations to run but was able to garner only a little more than 300 signatures, would like to see the court postpone the upcoming election until the law on the election, which he sees as unconstitutional, is changed. Another disqualified candidate, Tomio Okamura, has already filed a similar complaint; he was just a few hundred votes short of being able to run. Barring a delay by the Constitutional Court, the first round of the election is set for January 11 and 12. Czechs are choosing from among nine official candidates.