Deputy Jiri Oliva elected vice-chairman of the Chamber of Deputies

Czech parliamentarians elected Jiří Oliva from the TOP 09 party as vice-chairman of the Chamber of Deputies in a secret vote on Wednesday. Mr Oliva will replace his fellow TOP 09 MP Vlasta Parkanová, who resigned from the post in July, after criminal charges were filed against her on suspicion of corruption. Since then, the lower house has had only one vice-chairman, Lubomír Zaorálek from the opposition Social Democratic Party. Mr Oliva, who is 60 years old, is currently a member of the parliamentary committees on agriculture and the environment, and was head of the state forestry company Lesy ČR, which he founded, for over ten years until 2003.