Czechs vote in local and senate elections

On Friday and Saturday, Czechs voted in the second round of elections to one third of the Senate and in the elections to local administration. In the Senate elections, fifty two hopefuls faced run offs in 26 districts after only one candidate, the controversial media tycoon Vladimir Zelezny, secured a seat in the Upper House in last week’s first round. The turnout this weekend was estimated at 70 percent in some regions, as compared to 24 percent on average a week ago. Although the Czech Senate has limited powers in the two- chamber parliament, it will play a key role in selecting a successor to President Vaclav Havel, whose term expires in January.