The Czech Republic will repeat its Presidential election after no winner emerged from the February 8 vote between incumbent Vaclav Klaus and opponent Jan Svejnar.

No winner emerged from the February 8, 2008 Czech Republic Presidential election between the Civic Democratic Party’s incumbent Vaclav Klaus and 55-year old University of Michigan professor Jan Svejnar. Another round of voting has been scheduled for February 15.

Czech Presidential Election Process

Adopted in 1992, the Czech Republic’s current Constitution provides specific instructions for the process of electing a new President. According to Article 58, the indirect election consists of three separate rounds of voting in the bicameral Parliament. In the first round, voting occurs separately in both the 200-seat Chamber of Deputies and the 81-seat Senate. The winning candidate must obtain a majority of votes in each chamber of Parliament.

If there is no winner, the leading candidates from each chamber advance to the second round. Just like the first round, the winner must receive a majority of votes in each chamber, which still vote separately.

A third round of voting occurs when no winner emerges from the second round. To win this last round, a candidate must obtain a majority of votes from the combined membership of both houses of Parliament, which now vote together (the winner must receive at least 141 of the possible 281 votes).

The Czech Constitution allows 14 days between each round, but they all typically occur on the same day. If no candidate receives a majority of votes in the third round, the entire election process is repeated until a winner emerges.

February 8 Voting Results

During the first two rounds, neither Klaus nor Svejnar obtained a majority of votes. In the third round, Klaus defeated Svejnar 139-113, but fell two votes short of a majority. Lawmakers from the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia, which holds 26 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and three seats in the Senate, sat out the final round of voting. These Parliamentary members have since been accused of sabotaging the vote.

The election was marred by a dispute over the ballot being secret or public. This fight over voting procedure appeared to overshadow the process of selecting a new President. Traditionally the vote is private, but was made public for this particular election after lengthy debate.

Opinion Polls Indicated Mixed Results

Early polls of Czech citizens conducted in January indicated that Svejnar, who holds dual citizenship in the United States and Czech Republic, led Klaus 52% to 48%. Another poll in late January had Svejnar ahead 55% to 45%. However, an election eve poll conducted by Prague marketing firm SC&C showed 53% of Czechs preferred Klaus, to 47% for Svejnar.

According to the polls, if a direct election was held, Klaus would win 11 of the country’s 14 regions, with Svejnar only winning Moravia-Silesia, Zlin (south Moravia), and Pardubice (east Bohemia). Klaus is preferred by young and right-oriented people, while Svejnar, a conservative, is favored by elderly and left-oriented people.

Update - February 15, 2008: Final Election Results

References

Bouda, Ondrej. “Presidential election 2008.” The Prague Post. Ferbruary 6, 2008.

Czech News Agency (CTK). “Commentariat: Vote of shame.” Prague Daily Monitor. February 9, 2008.

Czech News Agency (CTK). “Poll: Czechs slightly favour Klaus.” Prague Daily Monitor. February 8, 2008.

“Czech Presidential Election Highlights Resilient Grudges.” Deutshce Welle. February 5, 2008.

“Czech presidential elections delayed.” Press TV. February 9, 2008.