Final election results may be delayed by postal voting

The announcement of the final results of this year’s parliamentary elections could be delayed due to the introduction of postal voting for Czechs living abroad, the Interior Ministry and the Czech Statistics Office (ČSÚ) said. Under the law, precinct election commissions at embassies must process mailed ballots only after polls close, to ensure that no voter has cast a ballot both remotely and in person. According to ČSÚ spokesman Stanislav Cieslar, this could slightly prolong the counting process. Postal voting is being used for the first time this year. In the previous parliamentary elections four years ago, the final results were announced on the second day of the vote at 10.24 pm.