Constitutional Court rejects request to postpone presidential vote

The Czech Constitutional Court on Friday unanimously rejected a request to postpone the country’s first direct presidential elections, and confirmed that the vote will take place on the originally planned dates; the first round of voting will be held on January 11 and 12, the second two weeks later. The request came from Senator Tomio Okamura whom the Interior Ministry refused to register as candidate. Mr Okamura demanded the election be postponed, and filed a complaint against the ministry’s decision. The Constitutional Court is yet to rule on Mr Okamura’s complaint itself; however, the court said he would not be allowed to stand in the election itself. Reacting to the court’s decision, Senator Okamura said the verdict would create doubts about the election and its legitimacy. The Constitutional Court on Friday also rejected complaints by three other people who were not registered as candidates for the election.