February 12, 2008

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The vast majority of people in the Czech Republic think citizens should be allowed to participate in the process of selecting a head of state, according to a poll by Median. 70 per cent of respondents would like the president to be elected through a direct popular ballot and not by Parliament.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The vast majority of people in the Czech Republic think citizens should be allowed to participate in the process of selecting a head of state, according to a poll by Median. 70 per cent of respondents would like the president to be elected through a direct popular ballot and not by Parliament.

In the Czech Republic, the president is elected by Parliament to a five-year term. The Czech president can return bills to lawmakers and grant pardons to convicted criminals, and also serves as the commander in chief of the armed forces. According to existing regulations, Czech heads of state can serve for a maximum of two consecutive five-year terms.

Vaclav Klaus—a prominent neo-liberal politician—has served as the European country’s head of state since March 2003, but he briefly held the office in 1993, when Czechoslovakia was separated into two countries. The member of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) also served as prime minister from July 1992 to December 1997.

The governing ODS endorsed incumbent Klaus as its official candidate for this year’s election, while the Green Party (SZ) backed Jan Svejnar, a U.S. educated economist and former advisor to Czech president Vaclav Havel.

On Feb. 8, Czech lawmakers participated in the indirect presidential election. In the first two rounds of voting, Klaus won a majority of the votes in the Senate, while Svejnar carried the Chamber of Representatives. The process called for a third round of voting encompassing both houses, where a candidate requires 140 votes to win.

On Feb. 9, Klaus received 139 votes in both houses, followed by Svejnar with 113 ballots. Since no candidate was supported by 140 lawmakers, a new vote will take place on Feb. 15.

Yesterday, independent senator Jaromir Stetina confirmed that a group of upper house lawmakers intends to back Svejnar again, adding, "My colleague senators are collecting signatures for his nomination across the country."

Polling Data

Which of these options would you prefer to choose the Czech Republic’s president?

A direct election by the people	70%
A secret ballot by Parliament	19%
No opinion	11%

Source: Median
Methodology: Interviews with 1,160 Czech adults, conducted from Jan. 2 to Feb. 1, 2007. No margin of error was provided.