Record number of Czechs run in October’s local elections

A record number of Czechs are running in October’s local elections, the news website lidvoky.cz reported on Sunday. More than 226,000 candidates will contest some 60,000 seats on city, town and village halls around the Czech Republic in the elections, held on October 15 and 16. In the first municipal elections after the fall of communism in 1994, some 160,000 people ran for seats; the lowest number of candidates, around 130,000 ran in 2002. Independent candidates won the highest number of seats in the previous local elections four years ago, followed by Civic and Social Democrats.

In the simultaneously held elections for the Czech Senate, 227 candidates will contest 27 of the upper chamber’s 81 seats.