Senate, regional elections to test leaders of biggest parties

The polls opened at 2:00 pm this Friday in elections to the Czech Republic's regional authorities and Senate, with a third of the seats in the latter up for grabs. Polls close on Saturday. The votes represent the first electoral test of Stanislav Gross since he became leader of the Social Democrats. The spotlight will also be on the chairman of the opposition Civic Democrats, Mirek Topolanek, who has been under some pressure following an apparent fall in support for the party and an alleged bribery scandal.