Jiří Pospíšil refusing to give up his parliamentary mandate

Former Justice Minister Jiri Pospíšil who on Thursday announced his decision to leave the Civic Democratic Party after 14 years of membership, is resisting pressure for him to give up his parliamentary mandate. Under fire from former party colleagues, Mr. Pospišil said on Friday he had not signed a pledge to relinquish his mandate in the event to leaving the party or facing charges of criminal behaviour, because he considered the document vague and badly worded. Mr. Pospišil said he did not want to squander the trust of the Plzen electorate saying he believed he had been elected on the basis of his own reputation rather than as a member of the ailing Civic Democratic Party.