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{{Infobox election
{{Infobox election
| election_name = Czech presidential election, 2013
| election_name = Czech presidential election, 2013

Revision as of 20:52, 23 November 2012

Czech presidential election, 2013
← 2008 11–12 and 25–26 January 2013
 
President before election

Václav Klaus
Independent

Elected President

TBD

View of South wing of the Prague Castle, seat of the Czech President, behind the statue of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, the first President of Czechoslovakia

The first direct presidential election in the Czech Republic will be held on 11–12 January 2013, with a runoff on 25–26 January, if necessary.[1][2] If no candidate receives a majority of the votes in the first round, a second round runoff election will be held. The incumbent president, Václav Klaus, is term-limited, so precluded from seeking reelection.[3] His term ends on 7 March 2013. As of November 2012, eleven individuals secured enough popular signatures or support of parliamentarians to become official candidates for the office.

Background

Previous elections by the Parliament

Main articles: Czech presidential election, 1993; Czech presidential election, 1998; Czech presidential election, 2003; and Czech presidential election, 2008

Since the dissolution of Czechoslovakia and the adoption of a new constitution in 1992, the office of president has been filled by votes by a joint session of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Czech Republic. The possibility of a directly elected president has been controversial because of concerns that it could weaken a government under the prime minister.[4][5] The 2008 presidential election, which narrowly reelected Václav Klaus after several attempts, however was criticized for the appearance of political deal-making and allegations of corruption.[6][7][5] Prime Minister Petr Nečas subsequently put the issue of a directly elected president in his three-party coalition agreement when he formed his government in 2010, in part because of demands by the TOP 09 party, and the Public Affairs and Mayors and Independents parties.[5] Several outspoken opponents of the change however came from the Prime Minister's own Civic Democratic Party.[8]

Change to direct elections

In September 2011, an amendment was submitted to the Chamber of Deputies for a second official reading, during which the Communist Party (KSČM) tried to reject the bill by sending it back into the review process, but the Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD), also part of the opposition, did not support the Communist's motion,[8] and allowed the bill to go ahead with certain changes, including limits on presidential power and penal immunity.[9] On 14 December 2011, the Chamber of Deputies passed the constitutional amendment for direct elections by a vote of 159 out of 192.[9] This was then sent to the Senate, which passed the amendment on 8 February 2012 after five hours of debate[4] by a majority of 49 of 75.[10] The Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, Pavel Rychetský, criticized the bill's method in which a constitutional amendment was in effect added, though without changing the original text of the constitution, and while leaving the election open to legal and constitutional challenges.[11]

In June 2012 an implementation bill for holding the election passed in the Chamber of Deputies, and in July in the Senate.[1] Though constitutional amendments do not require presidential approval, and cannot be vetoed,[10] President Václav Klaus did need to sign or veto the implementation bill; a refusal could have halted the constitutional changes.[1] Klaus opposed the measure, though saying it was a "fatal mistake"[4] as the country was not ready for such a move.[12] He however signed the law on 1 August 2012.[1] The law is scheduled to take affect 1 October 2012,[10] after which Senate President Milan Štěch is due to set a date for the election, following discussions with the Ministry of the Interior.[13]

The two-day first round could be on 11-12 January 2013 with a possible run-off on 25-26 January 2013.[13] Candidates will be allowed to spend up to 40 million koruna in the first round and 10 million koruna in a possible second round. Each candidate must also have an election committee that manages campaign funding, which should be run through a special account. If a discount has been negotiated for the campaign, the original price must be listed in the accounts. All anonymous campaigns contributions are banned.[1]

Naming of the Constitutional Court judges

Although the role of the Czech President is to a large degree mostly ceremonial, the winner of the 2013 election will be naming as many as 8 out of 15 justices of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic (subject to the approval of the Senate), which may have a long-lasting impact on the country due to the court's power to rescind enactment's of the parliament which it deems unconstitutional.

Candidates

In order to be a candidate, an individual needs to gather 50,000 signatures from citizens or the support of 20 Deputies or 10 Senators. The candidates were bound to file their applications with the signatures 66 days before the election;[13] following which the Interior Ministry verified a sampling of the signatures.[1]

The Civic Democratic Party (ODS) held a primary elections in July 2012 to choose their candidate, selecting former President of the Senate Přemysl Sobotka over MEP Evžen Tošenovský.[14] SPOZ, TOP 09, and Suverenita have their party leaders running for the post. Jan Švejnar, who ran for the presidency in 2008 against Václav Klaus declined to run in order to support Jan Fischer's candidacy.[7]

Confirmed candidates

Candidate Quorum fulfillment[15] Party Affiliation prior to
the Velvet Revolution 		Occupation PPM Factum Opinion poll
27 August 2012 		PPM Factum Opinion poll
6–16 Sept 2012 		PPM Factum Opinion Poll
15 Oct 2012
Bobošíková
Jana Bobošíková 		55 000 (approx.) Suverenita Socialist Union of Youth Journalist, former Member of European Parliament 5.3% 3.8% 4.5%
Dienstbier
Jiří Dienstbier Jr. 		55 000 (approx.)
28 Senators 		ČSSD Dissident
(Stuha) 		Psychologist, Senator 6.5% 6.9% 6.5%
Dlouhý
Vladimír Dlouhý 		60 000 (approx.) Independent  Communist Party
of Czechoslovakia 		Economist, former Minister of Industry and Trade N/A 4.5% 2.8%
Fischer
Jan Fischer 		101 761 Independent Communist Party
of Czechoslovakia 		Statistician, former Prime Minister of the Czech Republic 22.0% 27.7% 30.1%
Fischerova
Táňa Fischerová 		72 610 Independent Dissident
(cs:Několik vět) 		Artist, former Member of Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament N/A N/A N/A
Franz
Vladimír Franz 		88 388 Independent None Artist, university professor N/A 6.6% 4.5%
Okamura
Tomio Okamura 		61 500 Independent None Entrepreneur, Senator 7.3% 6.1% 7.9%
Roithová
Zuzana Roithová 		80 894 KDU-ČSL None Physician, Member of the European Parliament N/A 3.4% 3.6%
Schwarzenberg
Karel Schwarzenberg  		 41 Deputies TOP 09 Émigré Prince of Schwarzenberg, Minister of Foreign Affairs 5.2% 5.9% 6.6%
Sobotka
Přemysl Sobotka 		 41 Deputies & 23 Senators ODS None Physician, former President of the Senate 4.8% 5.7% 4.3%
Zeman
Miloš Zeman 		105 409 SPOZ Communist Party
of Czechoslovakia
(1968–1970) 		Economist, former Prime Minister of the Czech Republic 20.6% 22.7% 21.9%

Failed candidates

The following list includes some of the candidates who failed to meet the quorum of minimum of 50,000 popular signatures or twenty MPs in the Chamber of Deputies, or ten MPs in the Senate.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Klaus signs direct presidential election bill". Prague Daily Monitor. ČTK. 2 August 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  2. ^ http://www.radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/first-direct-presidential-election-set-for-january-11-2013
  3. ^ "Czech Republic may change mode of presidential elections". Presidential Activism. 28 November 2010. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  4. ^ a b c Falvey, Christian (2 February 2012). "Czech Parliament passes direct presidential elections". Radio Prague. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  5. ^ a b c Nováček, Petr (14 February 2012). "Will Czechs elect a worthy president, or a führer?". Czech Position. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  6. ^ Willoughby, Ian (18 February 2008). "Klaus celebrates re-election as Czech president after vote marked by controversy". Radio Prague. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  7. ^ a b "Švejnar says he will not seek Czech presidency". Prague Daily Monitor. ČTK. 12 September 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  8. ^ a b Nováček, Petr (26 September 2011). "Direct presidential elections: Sorry, maybe next time". Czech Position. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  9. ^ a b Richter, Jan (14 December 2011). "Czech MPs approve direct presidential election". Radio Prague. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  10. ^ a b c "Senate passes bill introducing direct election of Czech president". ČTK. 8 February 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  11. ^ Jones, Tom (13 February 2012). "Constitutional Court head slams direct presidential election amendment". Czech Policy. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  12. ^ "Vaclav Klaus against direct presidential elections in Czech Republic". Presidential Activism. 15 March 2011. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  13. ^ a b c "Czech Republic to hold first direct presidential election in January". New Europe. 2 August 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  14. ^ "Civic Democrats back Sobotka for president". Prague Daily Monitor. ČTK. 18 July 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  15. ^ iDnes.cz. 6 November 2012 http://zpravy.idnes.cz/jakl-nebude-kandidat-na-prezidenta-d5f-/domaci.aspx?c=A120131_125323_domaci_jj. Retrieved 10 November 2012. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Text "Česko zná všechny kandidáty na prezidenta. Jakl a Švejnar neprošli" ignored (help)
  16. ^ "Presidential candidate Jakl launches petition for his bid". Prague Daily Monior. ČTK. 24 September 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  17. ^ a b "Former chief spycatcher running for president". Prague Daily Monitor. ČTK. 14 September 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  18. ^ "Lawyer Samková runs for president". Prague Daily Monitor. ČTK. 6 August 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  19. ^ http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/domov/volby/zpravy/o-prezidentsky-urad-se-bude-uchazet-nejmene-devet-kandidatu/861471
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