Senate of the Czech Republic
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| Senát Parlamentu České republiky | |||||
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| Type | Upper house | ||||
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| Speaker |
Přemysl Sobotka, (ODS) since 15 December 2004 |
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| Members | 81 | ||||
| Political groups | ODS ČSSD KDU-ČSL SNK ED KOD not aligned Senators |
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| Last elections | October, 2006 | ||||
| Meeting place | Prague | ||||
| Web site | www.senat.cz | ||||
| Czech Republic |
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The Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic (Czech: Senát Parlamentu České republiky), usually referred to as Senát, is the upper chamber of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. The seat of the Senate is Wallenstein Palace in Prague.
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[edit] Structure
The Senate has 81 members, elected for six years, every two years one third of them, in one-seat constituencies through two rounds majority system (the second round is between two candidates with highest number of votes from the first round – if no candidate obtains 50+% majority in the first round). Candidate to the Senate does not need to be on a political party's ticket (unlike the lower chamber).
The senate has one President and four Vice-Presidents.[1]. Its members participate in specialised committees and commissions.[2][3]
The Senate Chancellery has been created to provide professional, organisational and technical services. The Senate occupies several historical palaces in centre of Prague, in Malá Strana quarter.[4] In 2005 its budget was 561.2 million CZK.
[edit] Powers
The Senate can delay a proposed law approved by the Chamber of Deputies but this veto can be overridden by an absolute majority of all members of the Chamber of Deputies (i.e. 101 of 200) in a repeated vote.
Senators have, with others, the right to take part in electing the President of the Republic and the judges of the Constitutional Court, and may propose new laws. However, the Senate does not get to vote on the state budget and is not expected to supervise the executive directly, unlike the Chamber.
The President [Speaker or Chairperson] of the Senate is the second-highest official of the Czech Republic, after President of the Republic, for ceremonial purposes, but without any real power.
[edit] History
The Senate was established in constitutional law of the Czech National Council (ČNR) No. 1/1993 on 16 December 1992.[5]. The immediate reason for its creation was a need to find a place for members of the Federal Assembly, dissolved together with Czechoslovakia. Other reasons given were the positioning of the Senate as a safety device ("pojistka") correcting laws endorsed by lower chamber and as a power balancing tool against the dominance of a single party.
Due to opposition by the Civic Democratic Alliance (who had members in ČNR, the new lower chamber, but not in the Federal Assembly) and those politicians fearing dilution of power the Senate was not set up. The first elections were held in 1996, with voter turnout around 35% (much lower than turnout for the lower chamber). Further elections were held in 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006 with steadily decreasing turnout (the lowest ever was around 10%, in many constituencies below 20%).
[edit] Political parties
| Voting parties and alliances | Seats |
|---|---|
| Civic Democratic Party (Občanská demokratická strana, ODS) | 41 |
| Czech Social Democratic Party (Česká strana sociálně demokratická, ČSSD) | 13 |
| Caucus of Christian Democratic Union - Czechoslovak People's Party (includes 1 elected in 2002 as an independent candidate) | 11 |
| Caucus SNK (Senátorský klub SNK) comprises 6 senators elected for | |
| SNK European Democrats (SNK Evropští demokraté) in 2002 (2) and 2004 (1) | 3 |
| Independents Movement (Hnutí NEZÁVISLÍ) in 2004 | 1* |
| Movement of Independents for Harmonious Development of Municipalities and Towns (Hnutí nezávislých za harmonický rozvoj obcí a měst) in 2002 | 1 |
| Independent Mayors for Region (Nezávislí starostové pro kraj) in 2006 | 1* |
| Caucus of Open Democracy (Klub otevřené demokracie) comprises 7 senators elected for | |
| coalition of Freedom Union - Democratic Union (Unie svobody - Demokratická unie) and Civic Democratic Alliance (Občanská demokratická aliance) in 2004 | 1 |
| Freedom Union - Democratic Union (Unie svobody - Demokratická unie) in 2002 | 1* |
| Green Party (Strana zelených) in 2004 | 1* |
| Liberal Reform Party (Liberální reformní strana) in 2002 | 1* |
| Path of Change (Cesta změny) in 2002 | 1* |
| Party for the Open Society (Strana pro otevřenou společnost) in 2006 | 1* |
| "United Democrats - Union of Independents (Spojení demokraté - Sdružení nezávislých)", actually European Democrats ticket in 2004 | 1* |
| Not aligned | |
| Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (Komunistická strana Čech a Moravy, KSČM) in 2002, 2004 and 2007 | 3 |
| Total | 81 |
| Source: Czech Statistical Office, Senate. The electoral party (the party on whose label the senator ran) can be volatile, especially with senators elected for tiny parties, so caucuses are more relevant. * for senators from tiny electoral parties who are not their formal members | |
[edit] Senators and members of the Cabinet
Members of the Senate of the Czech Republic include these:
- Jiří Čunek - Chairman of the People's Party, Deputy Prime minister and Minister of Regional development
- Tomáš Julínek - Minister of Health
- Karel Schwarzenberg - Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Alexandr Vondra - former Minister of Foreign Affairs, current Deputy Prime minister for European Affairs
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Senators Senate website
- ^ Senate Committees Senat website
- ^ Senate Commissions Senate website
- ^ Seat of the Senate Senate website
- ^ Ústavní zmìny v dobì od pádu komunismu Bulletin Scientia Politica (Czech)
