Politics of the Czech Republic takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, the Chamber of Deputies (Poslanecká sněmovna) and the Senate.
Political developments
The Czech political scene supports a broad spectrum of parties ranging from the semi-reformed Communist Party on the far left to various nationalistic parties on the extreme right. Generally, the (liberal) right beyond the specific case of huge Civic Democratic Party is splintered and has failed in several attempts to unite.
Czech voters returned a split verdict in the June 2002 parliamentary elections, giving the left-of-center Social Democrats (ČSSD) and Communists majority, without any posibility to form functional government together due to Vladimír Špidla's strong anticommunism. The results produced a ČSSD coalition government with Christian Democrats (KDU-ČSL) and Liberals (US-DEU), while Civic Democrats (ODS) and Communists (KSČM) took place in opposition. The vote ratio was the tiniest 101:99. After many buffetings and, finally, catastrophic results of the June 2004 European Parliament elections the government was reshuffled on the same basis but with Špidla ousted after a revolt in his own party.
As the system in Czech conditions repeatedly produces very weak governments (a specific problem is about 20% support of the Communists shunned by all the other parties) there is a constant talk about changing it but without much chance of really pushing the reform through. An attempt to increase majority elements by tweaking the system parameters (more smaller districts etc.) by ČSSD and ODS during their "opposition agreement" 1998 – 2002 was vehemently opposed by smaller parties and blocked by the Constitutional Court as going too much against the constitution-stated proportional principle.
Executive branch
The president is elected by Parliament for a five-year term; election last held 28 February 2003. The prime minister is appointed by the president. Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister The Prime Minister is the head of government and wields considerable powers, including the right to set the agenda for most foreign and domestic policy, mobilize the parliamentary majority, and choose governmental ministers.
Václav Klaus, now President of the Czech Republic, former Prime Minister and chairman of Civic Democrats (ODS) remains one of the country's most popular politicians. As formal head of state, he is granted limited specific powers such as the right to enact a veto on legislation, nominate Constitutional Court judges, appoint the prime minister and dissolve parliament under certain special and rare conditions.
Legislative branch
The Parliament (Parlament České Republiky) has two chambers. The Chamber of Deputies (Poslanecká Sněmovna) has 200 members, elected for a four year term by proportional representation with a 5 % election threshold. The Senate (Senát) has 81 members, in single-seat constituencies elected by two-round runoff voting for a six-year term, with one third renewed every even year in the autumn. After the split of the former Czechoslovakia, the powers and responsibilities of the now defunct federal parliament were transferred to the Czech National Council, which renamed itself the Chamber of Deputies. Chamber delegates are elected for 4-year terms on the basis of proportional representation with 5% election threshold. There are 14 voting districts identical to the country's administrative regions. The Czech Senate was first elected in 1996; its members serve for 6-year terms with one-third being elected every 2 years. This is patterned after the U.S. Senate but each constituency is of (roughly) same size and the system used is two-round runoff voting. The Senate is unpopular among the public and suffers from low election turnout (as low as 10 per cent in some districts in second round).
Political parties and elections
- Election results include names of political parties. See for additional information about parties the List of political parties in the Czech Republic. An overview on elections and election results is included in Elections in the Czech Republic.
| Composition of the Czech Senate after the 2004 electionsedit |
| Voting parties and alliances |
Seats |
| Civic Democratic Party (Občanská demokratická strana, ODS) |
36 |
| Coalition of Four (Čtyřkoalice) formed by Christian Democratic Union - Czechoslovak People's Party, Freedom Union - Democratic Union and Civic Democratic Alliance |
16 |
| Czech Social Democratic Party (Česká strana sociálně demokratická, ČSSD) |
7 |
| Christian Democratic Union - Czechoslovak People's Party (Křesťansko-demokratická unie - Československá strana lidová, KDU-ČSL) |
6 |
| Union of Independents (Sdružení nezávislých kandidátů, SNK) |
3 |
| Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (Komunistická strana Čech a Moravy, KSČM) |
2 |
| Independent Democrats (Nezávislí demokraté) |
2 |
| independent candidates |
2 |
| European Democrats (Evropští demokraté) |
1 |
| Freedom Union - Democratic Union (Unie svobody - Demokratická unie) |
1 |
| coalition of Freedom Union - Democratic Union (Unie svobody - Demokratická unie) and Civic Democratic Alliance (Občanská demokratická aliance) |
1 |
| Green Party (Strana zelených) |
1 |
| Liberal Reform Party (Liberální reformní strana) |
1 |
| Movement of independents for harmonious development of communes and towns (Hnutí nezávislých za harmonický rozvoj obcí a měst) |
1 |
| Path of Change (Cesta změny) |
1 |
| Total |
81 |
| Source: Czech Statistical Office. Note that the table gives only the formal voting party of the senator; these were very volatile and are quite meaningless for smaller parties. Actually, the senate is divided into factions thus: ODS 37 (incl. one elected for 4Koalice), KDU-ČSL 14, "Open Democracy" 13, ČSSD 7, SNK 7; 3 non-organized incl. 2 from KSČM |
Judicial branch
The country's highest court of appeals is the Supreme Court. The Constitutional Court, which rules on constitutional issues, is appointed by the president, and its 15 members serve 10-year terms.
Administrative divisions
The Czech Republic is divided in 14 Regions including the capital of Prague. The older 73 districts (okresy, singular - okres) and 4 municipalities* (města, singular - město) have been disbanded in an ill-executed administrative reform; however are still traditionally recognized and remain the seats of various branches of state administration: Benešov, Beroun, Blansko, Břeclav, Brno-město*, Brno-venkov, Bruntál, České Budějovice, Česká Lípa, Český Krumlov, Cheb, Chomutov, Chrudim, Děčín, Domažlice, Frýdek-Místek, Havlíčkův Brod, Hodonín, Hradec Králové, Jablonec nad Nisou, Jeseník, Jičín, Jihlava, Jindřichův Hradec, Karlovy Vary, Karviná, Kladno, Klatovy, Kolín, Kroměříž, Kutná Hora, Liberec, Litoměřice, Louny, Mělník, Mladá Boleslav, Most, Náchod, Nový Jičín, Nymburk, Olomouc, Opava, Ostrava*, Pardubice, Pelhřimov, Písek, Plzeň*, Plzeň-jih, Plzeň-sever, Prachatice, Praha*, Praha-Východ, Praha-Západ, Přerov, Příbram, Prostějov, Rakovník, Rokycany, Rychnov nad Kněžnou, Semily, Sokolov, Strakonice, Šumperk, Svitavy, Tábor, Tachov, Teplice, Trutnov, Třebíč, Uherské Hradiště, Ústí nad Labem, Ústí nad Orlicí, Vsetín, Vyškov, Žďár nad Sázavou, Zlín, Znojmo
International organization participation
The Czech Republic is member of Australia Group, BIS, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (among the 10 new members since May 2004), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA (observer), IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UPU, Visegrád group, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, Zangger Committee
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