Transparency International: opposition coalitions running “most transparent” election campaigns

Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International’s Czech branch says two opposition groupings have run the most transparent parliamentary election campaigns ahead of the October vote.

One coalition comprises two parties (the Pirates, and Mayors and Independents), and the other, called Spolu, three parties (the Civic Democrats, Christian Democrats and TOP 09).

Transparency International CR also noted the abuse of public functions for political marketing, especially in the case of the ANO party led by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš.

A recent Kantar poll commissioned by Czech Television shows ANO winning 24.5 percent of the vote, followed by Spolu with 23 percent, and the Pirates and Mayors and Independents with 20 percent of the vote.

The only two other political parties which would cross the 5 percent threshold needed to win seats in the lower house are the Freedom and Direct Democracy Party with 11.5 percent and the Communist Party with 5 percent.