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Political System

 

Results of the Elections   Constitution of the Czech Republic

The Czech Republic has a democratic system of government based on parliamentary democracy and free competition among political parties. Every citizen, upon reaching the age of 18, has the right to vote. The President of the Czech Republic is the formal head of state; he is also Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The President is elected by Parliament for a term of five years at a joint meeting of the lower and upper houses. The current President of the Czech Republic is Mr. Miloš Zeman, the former Prime Minister.

The Czech Republic's supreme legislative body is Parliament, which consists of the House of Deputies, the lower house of the legislature, and the Senate, the upper house. The House of Deputies is made up of 200 Deputies elected on party tickets by secret ballot based on proportional representation for four-year terms. The Senate is comprised of 81 senators elected in individual electoral districts for six-year terms using a majority-wins system. This is similar to how Members of Parliament are elected in Canada. To be elected to the House of Deputies, a candidate must be at least 21 years of age; for the Senate, the minimum required age is 40.

The supreme executive body is the Government. It is led by the Prime Minister and appointed by the President of the Republic. The President also appoints other Government members - deputy ministers and ministers based on the Prime Minister's recommendations. Before it is instated, the Government must win a vote of confidence in the House of Deputies.

The independent Constitutional Court is the highest judiciary body in the Czech Republic. The President appoints, for life, its head and its judges, as well as judges of other courts. The Czech National Bank, entrusted with the stability of the currency, is independent and self-governing. The President, however, appoints its chairman and governors.

The Czech Republic is a free country devoted to equal rights for all its citizens. Human and civil rights are guaranteed by the Constitution through the Bill of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms. Many organizations have been formed to promote and encourage human rights within the Czech Republic, including the Czech Helsinki Committee and Amnesty International.

Presently, the Czech Republic is divided into administrative districts. These districts are further divided into 6000 municipalities. However, by 2002, the country was divided into 13 self-governing regions, which will constitute the basic governing bodies. The state will intervene in the work of the self-governing regions only when necessary for defending the law and do so only as specified by law. The members of the localgovernments are elected to office for four years.

The current Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Canada is His Excellency Mr. Pavel Hrnčíř.


Major Political Parties

In 1989, after overthrowing the "one-party" government, Czechoslovak citizens found again freedom, the right to freely form political parties and movements according to one's political convictions. Shortly after the fall of the totalitarian regime, a colorful variety of political parties was established and provided the foundation for a more stable democratic political environment.

Czech Social Democratic Party, ANO and Christian Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People´s Party form the current coalition government.

The main parties in today's political scene according to elections in October 2017 are:

ANO Political Movement (ANO, bude líp - politické hnutí)

Civic Democratic Party (Občanská demokratická strana - ODS)

Czech Pirates Party (Česká pirátská strana)

Direct Democracy Party (Strana přímé demokracie - SPD)

Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (Komunistická strana Čech a Moravy - KSČM)

Czech Social Democratic Party (Česká strana sociálně demokratická - ČSSD)

Christian Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party (Křesťansko-demokratická unie - Československá strana lidová- KDU-ČSL)

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Mayors and Independents (Starostové a nezávislí - STAN)