Voting in elections “tough test” for flooded municipalities
The 2024 Senate and regional elections could not have come at a worse time for thousands of people in the badly flooded eastern parts of the country. Around 30 municipalities are voting in makeshift polling stations with the help of power generators and volunteers. Many mayors have resigned themselves to a dismally low turnout.
While for most of the Czech Republic the two days of voting are a familiar and well-orchestrated procedure, in 30 badly flooded municipalities they are yet another test of strength and endurance. Polling stations have had to be set up wherever possible – in a library, grocery store or sport facility that is usable for that purpose. The mayor of Česká Ves Petr Mudra says that organizing an election in the flood-ravaged town was an impossible task.
“It was practically impossible to prepare the elections. Both polling stations were flooded. There is no electricity and many people evacuated to friends and family. Reaching them and even reaching members of the commission to inform them where elections will be held is near impossible. In the end, the voting will take place on the parking lot of our swimming pool.”
According to the Interior Ministry, which is helping the worst hit regions, 30 municipalities are having serious organizational problems. In five municipalities, it has had to take over completely and provide all the basic necessities such as a place to vote, albeit a tent, fresh ballot papers and an electoral commission made up of volunteers. Others are struggling to manage in exceptionally difficult conditions.
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Among the worst hit municipalities is the town of Krnov in Moravia, where an estimated 80 percent of the town was underwater. People’s homes are filled with mud, in worse cases slated for demolition, streets and gardens are still strewn with what the torrent brought. And while the town’s inhabitants are desperately trying to restore order, emotions are running high.
“Two days of elections are two lost days. Everyone on this commission needs to go home and clean-up. I need to go and clean-up. Our cellars are full of mud!”
This woman from Krnov is not the only one who is angry with the government for not having called a state of emergency and postponed the elections. The locals say they have other things to think about than elections – their homes need to be cleaned and dried out ahead of the winter. Many have lost priced possessions and will need to completely refurbish their homes. There is no electricity and no running water. And in many cases the initial shock is giving way to depression regarding what the future will bring in an area where floods are increasingly frequent.
The government argues that it considered various options, but ultimately concluded that it was not legally possible to postpone the elections. If elections were postponed, the vote’s legitimacy could reportedly be questioned. Lawyers say it will be questioned anyway, since people who were displayed by the floods could argue that their right to vote was restricted.
How these exceptional circumstances will play out and how they will influence voter turnout remains to be seen.
