President announces likely early election date

If MPs next week vote to dissolve the lower house of Parliament, President Milos Zeman will call an early election for October 25 and 26. Mr. Zeman announced the possible date in an interview for Haló Noviny, a paper with ties to the Communist party, saying he saw no reason why the lower house should be left idle for another month. The motion to dissolve the Chamber of Deputies would need a constitutional majority of 120 votes to pass and according to present estimates 122 deputies are likely to support it. Some commentators have expressed surprise that the president announced such an important decision in a party publication.