Foreign Ministry expects tens of thousands to vote from abroad in 2025 general elections
The Foreign Ministry expects tens of thousands of voters abroad to participate in the autumn elections to the Chamber of Deputies. More than 600,000 Czechs are long-term residents abroad. For the first, time this year, they can vote by correspondence. In order to vote, Czechs from abroad must be registered on special electoral lists at embassies. They can do so now, no later than 40 calendar days before election day.
Czech President Petr Pavel announced that the elections to the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Czech parliament, will be held on 2-3 October this year, the latest possible date.
From 1 April 2025, it is also possible to register in the special voters' list at the respective embassy or consulate general via the Citizen Portal, and from 16 April, also with the help of the updated mobile application of the portal. According to the Foreign Ministry, this should simplify the process.
Information about the possibility of voting by mail is now being shared across the border by compatriots with the ministry's support.
"Voting by mail was the most frequent request from Czech compatriots abroad. That is why we decided to reach out to well-known figures in the expatriate communities to help inform them about the necessary steps. Embassies provided basic guidelines, and the compatriots themselves—either independently or with the embassy's assistance—created videos that are very authentic and demonstrate how many proud Czech men and women there are around the world," said Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský.
The post-production of the videos was handled by the staff of the Czernin Palace, where the Czech Foreign Ministry is located. Embassies and associations are now sharing the videos on their social media networks. The social media channels of the "We Want to Vote by Mail" initiative serve as an example of expatriates' involvement in spreading information about postal voting, the ministry said. The ministry is also disseminating information on its website.
Votes from abroad will now be counted in the four largest regions instead of the two originally proposed, which should lessen their impact on seat distribution. The State Election Commission will decide in which of the four regions Czechs abroad will vote. In the last general elections, about 18,800 Czechs abroad were eligible to vote for their deputies, with around 13,200 casting their votes. In last year's presidential election, 28,700 Czechs could vote abroad, and 23,000 of them took advantage of the opportunity.
