Czechs voting in parliamentary elections
This afternoon, voters in Czechia begin deciding on the composition of the new Chamber of Deputies. The votes will also determine which parties or movements will form the next government. This will be determined by some of the 26 electoral groups. 200 of the 4,463 candidates will cross the threshold of the lower house to become members of parliament.
Polling stations in Czechia will open today at 2 p.m. local time at approximately 14,800 locations and close at 10 p.m. After a night break, they will be open again on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The main results could be known by Saturday evening. In the previous parliamentary elections four years ago, the final results were announced on the second day of the vote at 10:24 p.m. Due to the newly instated mail-in voting, it’s likely that the results may be delayed this year.
The complete results will be discussed by the State Election Commission on Monday and will likely be published in the Collection of Laws on Tuesday. From Wednesday, people will then have the opportunity to challenge the results at the Supreme Administrative Court.
The last parliamentary elections were won by the SPOLU coalition, consisting of the Civic Democrats (ODS), Christian and Democratic Union – Czechoslovak People's Party (KDU-ČSL), and Tradition, Responsibility, Prosperity 09 (TOP 09), which, together with the Mayors and Pirates, pushed the ANO movement into opposition. The Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) party remained in opposition. The Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD) and Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSČM) did not make it into the Chamber of Deputies, but are now attempting a comeback under the banner of the Stačilo! movement.
More than eight million voters received their ballots in the mail. Those who did not receive them can pick them up at the polling station corresponding to their place of residence. Outside their home municipality, they can obtain them from election commissioners at the polling station where they will be voting with their voter ID card. People must bring their ID card or passport to the polling station for identity verification. Without it, election commissioners will not allow them to vote.
On the ballot paper of the selected party, movement, or coalition, people can give a maximum of four specific candidates so-called preferential votes by circling the serial number in front of their name. If a voter circles more candidates, the election commissioners would have to ignore their preferential votes. However, the vote for the party would remain valid.
Similarly, other written alterations to the ballot paper have no effect on its assessment. According to the Ministry of the Interior, ballot papers on which the names of candidates are crossed out, changed, or added would also be valid. On the other hand, forged or torn ballots would be invalid, but not torn ballots, if the election commissioners were able to read all the necessary information from them. A voter's vote would also be invalid if there were several ballots in the ballot envelope or if the ballot was not in the envelope.
Local referendums will be held concurrently with the general elections in forty municipalities. Almost half of these referendums will focus on proposed wind turbine projects. Other topics on the local ballots include the management of a municipal restaurant, plans for landfills and incinerators, the establishment of gambling venues, gravel mining, the construction of a sports hall, a high-speed rail line, and a senior care facility.
