Act of Law No. 247/1995 Coll. of September 27th, 1995, on elections to the Parliament of the Czech Republic and on change and amendment of other selected acts of law, amendmended by 212/1996 Coll., 243/1999 Coll., 204/2000 Coll., 64/2001 Coll., 491/2001 Coll., 204/2000 Coll. (part), 37/2002 Coll., 171/2002 Coll., 230/2002 Coll. (part), 230/2002 Coll., 62/2003 Coll., 418/2004 Coll., 323/2006 Coll., 480/2006 Coll.
The Parliament has resolved on the following act of law of the Czech Republic:
Part One
Election to the Parliament of the Czech Republic
Section One
General Provisions
Article 1
(1) This act of law addresses the terms of exercise of the right to vote, the organisation of elections and the extent of judicial review.
(2) In general, the elections to the Parliament of the Czech Republic are based on the principles of universal, equal and direct right to vote and secret ballot. The members of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic are elected in compliance with the principle of proportional representation. The members of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic are elected in compliance with the principle of majority system.
(3) The elections to the Parliament of the Czech Republic shall be announced by the President of the republic at least 90 days in advance. A resolution on their announcement shall be published in the Collection of Laws. The day on which the chapter of the Collection of Laws featuring the resolution to announce the elections to the Parliament of the Czech Republic is distributed shall be regarded as the day on which the elections are announced.
(4) The elections to the Parliament of the Czech Republic in the territory of the Czech Republic shall be held in the course of 2 days, on a Friday and on a Saturday. On the first day of the elections, the voting shall start at 2 p.m. and end at 10 p.m. On the second day of the elections, the voting shall start at 8 a.m. and end at 2 p.m.
(5) The elections to the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic abroad shall be held in the course of 2 days,
a) on a Thursday and on a Friday, with the voting starting at 2 p.m. and ending at 9 p.m. of local time, in any place (Article 3, Section 2) where the time lag in comparison with the territory of the Czech Republic exceeds 4 hours,b) on a Friday, with the voting starting at 12 noon and ending at 10 p.m. local time, and on a Saturday, with the voting starting at 8 a.m. and ending at 12 noon local time, in any place (Article 3, Section 2) where the time lag in comparison with the territory of the Czech Republic totals 2 hours at the most,
c) on a Friday, with the voting starting at 2 p.m. and ending at 10 p.m. local time, and on a Saturday, with the voting starting at 8 a.m. and ending at 2 p.m. local time, in any other place (Article 3, Section 2).
(6) Unless specified otherwise by this act of law, the date of the elections is understood to mean the first day of the elections in the territory of the Czech Republic. The time limits and the determination of election days pursuant to this act of law are in no way affected by the aforementioned voting times abroad.
(7) Any citizen of the Czech Republic (hereinafter only the “citizen”) at least 18 years old on the second day of the elections at the latest is classified as a voter. In the second round of the elections to the Senate every citizen at least 18 years old on the second day of that round may vote.
Article 2
The exercise of the right to vote is limited by
a) statutory restriction of personal freedom due to public health protection1),b) legal disqualification2).
Article 3
Election Districts
(1) The elections to the Parliament of the Czech Republic shall be held in election districts established in compliance with special legal regulations3).
(2) Special permanent election districts (hereinafter only “special election districts”) shall be established by embassies and consulates of the Czech Republic, except for consulates managed by honorary consular officials, for the purpose of the elections to the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic outside the territory of the Czech Republic. The territory of each special election district is determined by the territorial competence of the relevant embassy.
Article 4
All voters shall be registered in permanent lists of voters (hereinafter only “permanent lists”) or in special lists of voters (hereinafter only “special lists”). Each voter may only be registered in one of the aforementioned lists.
Article 5
Permanent Lists
Every permanent list shall be administered in compliance with special legal regulations4).
Article 6
Special Lists
(1) Special lists shall be administered by local authorities, municipal authorities, metropolitan authorities, authorities of municipal districts or municipal sections of territorially subdivided statutory towns and municipal authorities of the City of Prague (hereinafter only “municipal authorities”) for all voters not having permanent address5) within their administration territory or unable to vote in the election districts in whose permanent lists they are registered, and
a) performing their compulsory military service or alternate military service within the territory of a municipality, a district of the City of Prague or a municipal section of a territorially subdivided statutory town,b) staying in a hospital, maternity home, sanatorium, social care institution or similar institution or facility located within the territory of a municipality, a district of the City of Prague or a municipal section of a territorially subdivided statutory town,
c) held in a police cell, under arrest or serving a term of imprisonment5a) within the territory of a municipality, a district of the City of Prague or a municipal section of a territorially subdivided statutory town,
d) using an electoral card (Article 6a).
(2) The voters specified in Section 1, Subsection a) shall be registered in a special list by the local authority in accordance with information received from the relevant commanding officer. The voters specified in Section 1, Subsections b) and c) shall be registered in a special list by a local authority in accordance with information received from the relevant institute, organisation or facility. All such information shall be forwarded no later than 7 days before the date of the elections and updated as necessary.
(3) The commanding officer or the relevant institute, organisation or facility administrating the special list shall inform the local authority in whose permanent list the voter concerned is registered that he/she has been reported for registration in a special list.
(4) In the case of elections to the Senate, only the voters having a permanent address in the electoral district where the elections take place and/or the voters included on a special list (Section 5) shall be registered in the special list.
(5) The embassies shall establish special lists for all voters
a) having their permanent address outside the territory of the Czech Republic; any such voter must apply for registration in a special list in writing, providing the originals or legalised copies of documents establishing his/her identity, citizenship of the Czech Republic and permanent address within the territory of competence of the embassy in whose special list he/she is to be registered; each application must be forwarded or delivered to the relevant embassy no later than 40 days before the date of the elections,b) using their electoral cards to vote at the embassies.
(6) All special lists defined in Section 5, Subsection a) shall be closed by the embassies 30 days before the date of the elections and forwarded immediately to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Ministry shall inform the embassies of any and all possible duplicities. After all duplicities have been eliminated, but no later than 20 days before the date of the elections the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall forward the final version of special lists to the Ministry of the Interior. If any voter registered in accordance with his/her application in any special list abroad is also registered in any permanent list, the Ministry of the Interior shall report this fact the local authority in whose permanent list he/she is registered and the voter shall be deleted from such permanent list immediately. Any such voter shall be informed of his/her deletion from the permanent list by the embassy in whose special list he/she is registered acting on information received from the relevant local authority.
(7) Each embassy shall forward an excerpt from its special list featuring all voters entitled to vote in the elections to the Chamber of Deputies in its special election district to a special district election commission.
Article 6a
Electoral Cards
(1) Any voter unable to vote in the electoral district in whose permanent list or special list he/she is registered (see Article 6, Section 5, Subsection a)) may ask his/her local authority or embassy for an electoral card. The fact that an electoral card has been issued shall be recorded by the relevant local authority or embassy to its permanent or a special list and to its excerpt for the district electoral commission or special district electoral commission. Electoral cards for the elections to the Senate shall be issued only to voters registered in a permanent list of the electoral district in which the elections take place and/or to voters registered in a special list in compliance with Article 6, Section 5, Subsection a).
(2) Every voter may apply for an election card from the date the elections are announced, by delivering his/her duly signed written application to the administrator of a permanent or special list at least 7 days before the date of the elections or personally at any time before the closing of a permanent or special list. The local authority or embassy concerned shall hand such electoral card over to the applicant or his/her representative acting in accordance with a power of attorney featuring the applicant’s legalised signature personally or have it sent to him/her no earlier than 15 days before the date of the elections.
(3) The electoral card gives its holder the right to be registered in an excerpt from a special list in the course of the elections
a) to the Chamber of Deputies in any election district or special election district,
b) to the Senate in any election district forming a part of the election area in which the elections are being held and in whose territory he/she has his/her permanent address or in any election district forming a part of the election area in which the elections are being held if he/she lives outside the territory of the Czech Republic.
Caption deleted
Article 7
Electoral Bodies
(1) Electoral bodies defined by this act of law:
a) the State Electoral Commission,b) the Ministry of the Interior,
c) the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
d) the Czech Statistical Office,
e) regional authorities and the Metropolitan Authority of the City of Prague (hereinafter only “regional authorities”) in the case of elections to the Chamber of Deputies,
f) designated local authorities at the seat of the election district, district authorities of the City of Prague at the seat of the election district as defined in Appendix 3 to this act of law and district or local municipal authorities of Brno, Ostrava and Pilsen (hereinafter only “designated local authorities at the seat of the election district”) in the case of elections to the Senate,
g) designated local authorities5b), district authorities of the City of Prague, the District Authorities of Prague 1 for the purpose of safekeeping of voting results received from abroad, district local or municipal authorities of Brno, Ostrava and Pilsen (hereinafter only “designated local authorities),
h) local authorities,
i) mayors of municipalities, mayors of territorially undivided chartered towns and mayors of districts or municipalities of territorially subdivided chartered towns or the City of Prague (hereinafter only “mayors”),
j) embassies,
k) district election commissions,
l) special district election commissions in the case of elections to the Chamber of Deputies (hereinafter only “special district election commissions”).
(2) All activities of the aforementioned electoral bodies are regarded as public administration.
Article 8
The State Electoral Commission
(1) The State Electoral Commission established in compliance with special legal regulations5c) is a permanent electoral body for the elections to the Parliament of the Czech Republic.
(2) The State Electoral Commission
a) coordinates the preparation, organisation, process and execution of the elections to the Parliament of the Czech Republic,b) supervises the execution of all necessary organisational and technical operations related to the elections to the Parliament of the Czech Republic,
c) draws the number to be featured in all voting tickets for the elections to the Parliament of the Czech Republic,
d) produces the electoral protocol featuring the results of the elections to the Chamber of Deputies,
e) declares and publishes the results of the elections to the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate,
f) delivers designation certificates to the candidates elected to the Parliament of the Czech Republic,
g) forwards the results of the elections to the relevant house of the Parliament of the Czech Republic,
h) issues permits allowing other personnel to be present when district electoral commissions count the votes,
i) draws the election regions to which special election districts abroad are to be submitted.
Article 9
The Ministry of the Interior
(1) The Ministry of the Interior is the central public administration authority for the area of the elections to the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate5d).
(2) The Ministry of the Interior
a) methodically supervises and controls all organisational and technical aspects of the preparation, progress and execution of the elections to the Parliament of the Czech Republic,b) deals with all complaints concerning organisational and technical aspects of the elections on a district level,
c) publishes lists of registered political parties and movements9) and forwards them to regional authorities and designated local authorities at the seat of election district for the purpose of registration of candidate lists and registration applications,
d) provides information from the register of citizens for local authorities for the purpose of administration of permanent and special lists,
e) operates a unified system of telecommunication links within the territory of the Czech Republic in collaboration with the Czech Statistical Office,
f) organises the printing of electoral materials and ballot papers,
g) verifies the qualification and the necessary knowledge of all employees of the City of Prague authorised by the Metropolitan Authority of the City of Prague to carry out election-related activities and all employees of individual districts of the City of Prague authorised by district authorities at the seat of an election district to carry out election-related activities, issuing certificates to each person meeting the aforementioned conditions; the certificates of qualification for election purposes are regarded as certificates of special professional qualification as defined by special legal regulations5j).
Article 10
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
a) supervises and controls all organisational and technical aspects of the preparation, progress and execution of the elections to the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic abroad5e),b) forwards special lists of voters administered in compliance with Article 6, Section 5 to the Ministry of the Interior on data medium,
c) operates a unified system of telecommunication links between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and individual embassies in collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior and the Czech Statistical Office,
d) provides source materials for the Czech Statistical Office necessary for its generation and updating of lists of special election districts,
e) operates a detached office of the Czech Statistical Office at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with the Czech Statistical Office.
Article 11
The Czech Statistical Office
(1) The Czech Statistical Office prepares a binding system of determination and processing of election results and provides the software needed to process and forward the results of the elections.
(2) The Czech Statistical Office shall also
a) operate the technical system used to process the results of the elections to the Parliament of the Czech Republic5f) in compliance with Section 1 herein at individual sites established by designated municipal authorities, regional authorities, designated local authorities in the seat of election district, the State Electoral Commission and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, regional authorities, designated municipal authorities and municipal authorities,b) process the overall results of the elections to the Chamber of Deputies (Articles 48 through 51), the registration source materials used by the State Statistical Office (Article 52) and the overall results of the elections to the Senate (Article 77) and forward them to the State Electoral Commission without delay,
c) prepare election result reports and forward them to regional authorities or designated municipal authorities in the seat of the election district without delay,
d) adopt all necessary technical measures ensuring that current and final election results are always available and provided,
e) secure and train a sufficient number of its own employees authorised to monitor and process the results of the elections to the Parliament of the Czech Republic as well as other personnel processing and forwarding the results of the elections for all individual sites established in compliance with Subsection a) herein,
f) train selected members of district electoral commissions in the area of monitoring and processing of electoral results,
g) issue individual district electoral commissions with printed computer configurations verifying that the election results provided by them have been accepted for further processing without defects,
h) forward summary information on election results in election regions or districts and the Czech Republic in written form to all political parties, movements and coalitions and independent candidates whose candidate lists have been registered or whose registration applications have been accepted; all such information shall be also forwarded in electronic form in compliance with Section 1 herein,
i) generate registers and code books featuring all candidates and all political parties, movements and coalitions running in the elections,
j) inform regional authorities and designated municipal authorities in the seat of the election district of any and all duplicities that occurred in candidate lists and registration applications,
k) deal with all complaints concerning the technical facilities and software used to process election results,
l) forward its records of election progress and results accepted from district election commissions and special district election commissions to the relevant designated municipal authority for safekeeping within 10 days after their processing by the relevant designated municipal authority or the relevant detached office at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been completed,
m) provide information on election results in the required territorial structure upon request after the publication of final results of the elections to the Chamber of Deputies or the Senate.
(3) Only the employees of the Czech Statistical Office authorised in compliance with Section 2, Subsection e), are entitled to
a) be present in the room in which a district electoral commission counts the votes (Article 23),b) accept counterparts of records of election progress and results and election results on data medium,
c) specify the time limit during which any and all errors are to be corrected and a new report on election results is to be presented,
d) instruct district election commissions and special district election commissions to end their sessions on the second election day (Article 43, Section 5),
e) organise collections of election results in all relevant election districts and special election districts,
f) organise the processing of final election results in election regions (Article 46, Section 1) and election districts (Article 73, Section 1),
g) produce and sign reports on election results in individual election regions (Article 46, Sections 2 through 4),
h) produce and sign reports on election results in individual election districts (Article 73, Sections 2 through 4),
i) forward summary information on election results in election regions and districts to the addresses of all respective representatives of political parties, movements and coalitions.
Article 12
Regional Authorities
(1) In connection with the elections to the Chamber of Deputies each regional authority
a) deals with all relevant organisational and technical aspects of the preparation, development and execution of the elections within its region,b) assesses and registers candidate lists,
c) informs the mayors of registered candidate lists,
d) forwards the addresses of all respective representatives of those political parties, movements and coalitions whose candidate lists have been registered to district election commissions,
e) organises the printing of ballot tickets within its region,
f) secures premises and supporting facilities for the Czech Statistical Office on a regional level and collaborates with the Czech Statistical Office in the area of processing and provision of election results on a regional level,
g) secures supporting facilities for the elections on a regional level,
h) archives election documents,
i) carries out other activities in compliance with this act of law.
(2) Only the employees of regional authorities holding certificates in compliance with special legal regulations5k) are entitled to
a) accept candidate lists and confirm their delivery (Article 31, Section 3),b) assess candidate lists and request correction of errors (Article 33, Section 1),
c) accept notifications of dismissal of representatives (Article 32, Section 5),
d) produce and send registration resolutions, resolutions on rejection of candidate lists or resolutions on deletion of candidates from a candidate list (Article 33, Sections 4 and 5),
e) accept notifications on withdrawal or dismissal of candidates (Article 36, Section 2),
f) change the order of candidates in candidate lists (Article 36, Section 3),
g) sign reports on election results in election regions (Article 46, Section 4).
(3) In connection with the elections to the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate each regional authority
a) deals with all complaints concerning organisational and technical aspects of the elections on a local level,b) monitors the course of voting at polling stations,
c) imposes fines in compliance with this act of law,
d) secures all necessary technical facilities and staff for the offices established by designated municipal authorities in collaboration with the Czech Statistical Office.
(4) The activities defined in Section 3, Subsection b) may be carried out only by the employees of regional authorities holding certificates in compliance with special legal regulations5k).
Article 13
Designated Municipal Authorities in the Seat of the Election District
(1) In connection with the elections to the Senate each designated municipal authority in the seat of the election district
a) supervises and controls all organisational and technical aspects of the preparation, progress and execution of the elections in its election district,b) considers and registers registration applications,
c) informs individual mayors of its registration of registration applications,
d) draws the number designating the ballot tickets of individual candidates to the Senate,
e) forwards the addresses of individual representatives of all political parties, movements and coalitions as well as independent candidates whose registration applications have been registered to the district election commission,
f) organises the printing of ballot tickets for its election district,
g) secures premises and supporting facilities for election district offices of the Czech Statistical Office and collaborates with the Czech Statistical Office in the area of technical facilities used to process and forward election results by such offices,
h) secures supporting election facilities on the level of the election district,
i) archives election documents,
j) carries out other tasks in compliance with this act of law.
(2) Only the employees of designated municipal authorities in the seat of the election district holding certificates in compliance with special legal regulations5c) are entitled to
a) accept candidate lists and confirm their delivery (Article 60, Section 4),b) assess candidate lists and request correction of errors (Article 62, Section 1),
c) accept notifications of dismissal of representatives (Article 61, Section 3),
d) produce and send registration resolutions and resolutions on registration rejection (Article 62, Sections 4 and 5),
e) accept notifications on withdrawal or dismissal of candidates (Article 66, Section 2),
f) sign reports on election results in election districts (Article 73, Section 4).
Article 14
Deleted
Article 14a
Designated Municipal Authorities
(1) Designated Municipal Authorities
a) secure premises and supporting facilities for the Czech Statistical Office in connection with its collection, inspection and processing of the records provided by the district election commissions and special district election commissions,b) secure the staff entering the election results received from individual election districts into the system and all necessary technical devices in collaboration with the Czech Statistical Office,
c) monitor the course of voting at polling stations,
d) monitor the counting of votes by the district election commissions.
(2) The activities defined in Section 1, Subsections c) and d) may be carried out only by the employees of designated municipal authorities holding certificates in compliance with special legal regulations5c).
Article 14b
Municipal Authorities
Municipal authorities
a) secure polling stations, staff and supporting facilities for district election commissions,b) administer special lists in compliance with Article 6, Sections 1 through 4,
c) issue electoral cards in compliance with Article 6a, Section 1,
d) deals with all complaints concerning organisational and technical aspects of the elections on the level of election districts,
e) archive election documents,
f) carry out other tasks in compliance with this act of law.
Article 14c
Mayors
Each mayor
a) makes sure that all voters are informed of the time and place of the elections,b) makes sure that all voters receive ballot papers,
c) specifies the minimum number of members of every district election commission, taking into account its electorate, no later than 60 days before the date of the elections; each commission shall have at least 5 members, except for districts whose electorate does not exceeds 300 persons; such district election commissions may have only four members,
d) summons the first session of the district election commission in a way ensuring that it takes place at least 21 days before the date of the elections,
e) appoints and dismisses the recorders of the district election commissions (hereinafter only “recorders”),
f) informs each political party, movement and coalition or independent candidate whose candidate list or registration application has been registered of the amount and addresses of election districts, by having such information posted on official boards of local authorities at least 45 days before the date of the elections,
g) carries out other activities in compliance with this act of law.
Article 14d
Embassies
Within the territory of their competence the Embassies
a) supervise and controls all organisational and technical aspects of the preparation, progress and execution of the elections to the Chamber of Deputies,b) administer special lists in compliance with Article 6, Section 5,
c) issue electoral cards in compliance with Article 6a, Section 1,
d) train all members of special district election commissions,
e) provide information on the time and place of the elections, on the possibility of registration in special lists of voters (Article 15, Section 3) and on the method of voting according to local conditions, including information in the relevant foreign language,
f) organise the printing or copying of ballot tickets if they are to be sent through technical means (Article 38, Section 5),
g) secure polling stations, staff and supporting facilities for special district election commissions.
Article 14e
District Election Commissions
(1) Each district election commission
a) keeps its polling station in order,b) organises the voting and supervise its execution,
c) counts votes and prepares a report on election development and results,
d) forwards all electoral documents, except for one copy of its report on election development and results, to local authority for safekeeping.
(2) Any citizen of the Czech Republic,
a) at least 18 years of age when taking his/her oath,b) not disqualified in compliance with Section 2, and
c) not standing as a candidate for the elections to the Parliament of the Czech Republic,
may become a member of the district election commission.
(3) Each political party, movement and coalition whose candidate list for the elections to the Chamber of Deputies has been registered in the election region in which the relevant election district is situated and each political party, movement and coalition and each independent candidate whose registration application for the elections to the Senate has been registered in the election area in which the relevant election district is located may delegate one member and one alternate member to any district election commission no later than 30 days before the date of the elections. If the minimum number of members specified in Article 14c, Section c) is not secured in the aforementioned way, the relevant mayor shall appoint the remaining members before the commission’s first session. If the number of members of a district election commission drops below the specified limit in the course of the elections to the Parliament of the Czech Republic and no alternate members pursuant to the first sentence of this Section are available, the mayor shall appoint other commission members to fill all vacant posts.
(4) Political parties, movements and coalitions shall delegate members and alternate members in compliance with Section 3 by delivering their lists to the mayor. Every such list must feature the first name(s) and surname, the date of birth and the permanent address of each delegated member or alternate member and the signature of an authorised representative of the political party, movement or coalition or the signature of the independent candidate presenting such list. It is also possible to specify to which district election commission the delegated members and alternate members should be appointed. If no such specification is included, their appointment shall be determined by the relevant mayor.
(5) In order to become a member of the district election commission, each delegate has to take the following oath: “I hereby affirm that I shall earnestly and impartially carry out my duties as a member of the district election commission in compliance with the Constitution and all acts of law and other legal regulations of the Czech Republic.” Each delegated or appointed representative takes the aforementioned oath by signing its written form. Upon its signing, he/she takes up his/her office.
(6) The membership in a district election commission shall expire
a) upon the day the district election commission ends its activities (Articles 52a and 77a),b) upon death,
c) upon the receipt of a written note by its chairman in which a member resigns his/her membership in the district election commission; such a written note may not be withdrawn,
d) upon the receipt of a written note by its chairman in which a member of the district election commission is dismissed by the same subject that delegated him/her,
e) upon the loss of citizenship of the Czech Republic, or
f) if a member of the district election commission does not perform his/her duties on any election day due to his/her absence for more than 2 hours.
(7) Although recorders are members of the district election commissions, they only have advisory status and do not take part in the voting of the district election commissions. They may present proposals and record the commissions’ meetings. They are also obligated to take the oath specified in Section 5 herein. Each recorder must be appointed by the relevant mayor at least 20 days before the first session of the district election commission. If any recorder ceases to carry out his/her duties, a new recorder must be appointed immediately.
Article 14f
(1) Each member whose membership has expired in compliance with Article 14e, Section 6 shall be replaced by an alternative member from the same political party, movement or coalition or nominated by the same independent candidate. Such an alternative member shall be appointed by the chairman of the district election commission and his/her membership shall become effective as soon as he/she takes his/her oath in compliance with Article 14e, Section 5. If the circumstances defined in Article 14e, Section 6, Subsection f) occur and no alternative members are available, the chairman of the district election commission shall point out this fact to the mayor who shall proceed in compliance with the third sentence of Section 3, Article 14e.
(2) A district election commission constitutes a quorum if an absolute majority of all its members entitled to vote is present. In order to be adopted, a resolution has to be voted for by an absolute majority of all present members.
(3) At its first session, each district election commission shall draw its chairman and deputy chairman under the supervision of its recorder. If the chairman or deputy chairman resigns or cannot conduct his/her duties due to serious reasons, the entire process shall be repeated. If a new chairman of the district election commission is to be drawn, the existing deputy chairman shall not be included in the draw. If a new deputy chairman of the district election commission is to be drawn, the existing chairman shall not be included in the draw.
Article 14g
Special District Election Commission
(1) The head of each embassy shall appoint a chairperson and at least 2 deputy chairpersons of a special district election commission 30 days before the date of the elections to the Chamber of Deputies. All of them must be citizens of the Czech Republic, must be at least 18 years of age as of the date they take their oath and must speak Czech. If the number of members of a special district election commission drops below 3 in the course of the elections, the head of the embassy concerned shall appoint other commission members to fill all vacant posts. The first meeting of each special election commission shall be summoned in a way ensuring that it takes place no later than 21 days before the day of the elections. If it is not possible to appoint at least three members of any special district election commission, its tasks shall be performed by the head of the embassy concerned and his/her recorder appointed 18 days before the first scheduled meeting of the special district election commission at the latest. The head of each embassy shall have the same competence as a mayor. The members of special district election commissions shall become duly appointed as soon as they take the oath specified in Article 14e, Section 5.
(2) Each special district election commission
a) organises the voting in a special election district, above all supervising correct delivery of ballot tickets and keeping its polling station in order,
b) counts votes and prepares a report on election development and results in the special election district,
c) forwards all electoral documents to the embassy; the documents are then sent through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the District Authority of Prague 1.
Article 15
Information for the Voters
(1) Each mayor shall announce the place and time of the elections in his/her municipality no later than 15 days before the date of the elections in a customary way. If more election districts are established, he/she shall specify the areas falling within the competence of each of them. His/her announcement must be published within every area and include the respective addresses of all polling stations.
(2) The announcement defined in Section 2 herein must also inform the voters of their obligation to establish their identity and citizenship before voting and include all other information warranting that the elections will not be disturbed.
(3) All embassies shall inform the voters living within the territory of their competence in a customary way and well in advance of the time and place of the elections to the Chamber of Deputies in special election districts, on their right to be included in special lists and on their obligation to establish their identity before casting their votes by valid passports of the Czech Republic. They shall also inform all voters of the elections to the Senate held within the territory of the Czech Republic and of the conditions upon which they may exercise their right to vote.
(4) All municipalities establishing committees for national minorities in compliance with special legal regulations5g) must issue their announcement in compliance with Sections 1 and 2 herein also in the language of the national minority concerned.
Article 16
Election Campaign
(1) Each mayor may reserve a space for election posters 16 days before the date of the elections. He/she must ensure that any such space can be used equally by all political parties, movements and coalitions, or by all candidates standing for the Senate.
(2) The election campaign must be honest and fair. No false information may be published on individual candidates or political parties, movements and coalitions.
(3) No results of pre-election and election polls may be published in any way between the third day preceding the elections to the Parliament of the Czech Republic and the end of the voting.
(4) In total, Czech Radio and Czech Television shall each reserve 14 hours of broadcasting time free of charge for all political parties, movements and coalitions whose candidate list has been registered for the elections to the Chamber of Deputies. The broadcasts shall begin 16 days before the date of the elections and end 48 hours before the date of the elections. The aforementioned time shall be divided equally among all such political parties, movements and coalitions. The particular times of individual broadcasts shall be determined by draw. The political parties, movements and coalitions shall bear full responsibility for their broadcasts.
(5) Any private individual publishing pre-election or election polls in the period starting on the third day before the elections to the Parliament of the Czech Republic and ending on the day the voting is completed is committing an offence. Such an offence shall be dealt with by the regional authority competent for the area in which the private individual has his/her permanent address. Any such private individual may be fined up to CZK 30,000.00. All applicable procedures are defined by special legal regulations5h).
(6) No election campaign concerning any political party, movement or coalition or any candidate may take place in the buildings in which polling stations are located and in their immediate vicinity on election days.
(7) Any corporate body publishing pre-election or election polls in the press or in the course of television or radio broadcasting in the period starting on the third day before the elections to the Parliament of the Czech Republic and ending the day the voting is completed is committing an administrative tort. Any such corporate body may be fined up to CZK 500,000.00. The aforementioned fine shall be imposed by the regional authority competent for the area in which the corporate body has its registered office. All related administrative proceedings must be completed within 3 years following the relevant breach of obligation. Any such fine must reflect the seriousness and method of unlawful actions. The imposition of a fine does not affect the provisions of special legal regulations5i). Each fine shall be payable within 30 days following the legally effective date of the resolution by which it has been imposed. All fines shall be regarded as revenues of the regional authority by which they have been imposed.
(8) No member of any district election commission or special district election commission may provide any information on the course of the elections until the record of the course and results of the elections has been signed; however, it is permitted to state how many voters have already cast their vote.
Article 17
Polling Stations
(1) Each polling station in every election district shall be equipped with a ballot box and a mobile ballot box, a sufficient amount of ballot tickets, empty envelopes stamped with official stamps (hereinafter only “official envelopes”), pens, excerpts from permanent lists and special lists and this act of law. This act of law must be made available to any voter at his/her request.
(2) Special sections shall be designated for the completion of ballot tickets. Such sections must be separated in compliance with the principle of secret ballot. Taking into account the number of voters in his/her election district, each mayor shall specify how many sections are to be provided.
(3) On each building housing a polling station shall fly the flag of the Czech Republic. Each polling station shall be decorated with a large state symbol6).
(4) The following documents must be posted at every polling station, at a clearly visible place: ballot tickets marked as “samples” and all statements of withdrawal or resignation delivered at least 48 hours before the date of the elections.
(5) Official envelopes must not be transparent and must be made of the same paper of the same colour, quality and size. If the elections to the Chamber of Deputies or the Senate are organised together with another type of elections, the official envelopes for the elections to the Chamber of Deputies or the Senate must have a different colour than the envelopes for the other elections.
(6) Each polling station in any special election district must be equipped with a ballot box, a sufficient amount of ballot papers, a sufficient amount of official envelopes, pens, excerpts from special lists and this act of law. This act of law shall be made available to any voter upon his/her request. Each polling station must also be furnished with a large state symbol located on a dignified place and feature special sections for the completion of ballot tickets separated in a way warranting compliance with the principle of secret ballot. Taking into account the number of voters in his/her special election district, the head of each embassy shall specify how many sections are to be provided. Ballot tickets marked as “samples” and all statements of withdrawal or resignation delivered at least 48 hours before the date of the elections must be posted at a clearly visible place of every polling station.
Article 18
Commencement of the Voting
(1) Prior to the voting the chairperson of a district election commission shall check whether the polling station is equipped in compliance with Article 17 herein and whether both the ballot box and the mobile ballot box are empty. After that the chairperson shall seal them in the presence of the other members of the district election commission. The same procedure shall be followed by each chairperson of a special district election commission, except for the provisions concerning inspection and sealing of mobile election boxes.
(2) When the check defined in Section 1 herein has been completed, the chairperson of the district election commission or special district election commission shall declare the voting commenced.
Article 19
Voting Principles
(1) Every voter must vote personally. No representation is permissible.
(2) The voters appear before the district election commission or special district election commission and vote in the order in which they arrive at the polling station.
(3) After entering a polling station, each voter shall establish his/her identity and citizenship of the Czech Republic7) by a valid regular, diplomatic or service passport of the Czech Republic, by another travel document7a) (hereinafter only the “passport”) or by a valid personal identity card7b). As soon as he/she is marked in an excerpt from a permanent list or a special list, every voter shall receive an empty official envelope from the district election commission. Upon request, his/her missing, crossed out or otherwise marked ballot tickets will be replaced by the district election commission.
(4) If a voter fails to establish his/her identity and citizenship of the Czech Republic7), he/she shall not be permitted to vote.
(5) Any voter not included in an excerpt from a permanent list yet able to demonstrate his/her right to vote in the relevant election district shall be registered by the district election commission in the excerpt from the permanent list on the spot and allowed to cast his/her vote. Each voter using an electoral card shall hand it over to the district election commission or special district election commission upon his/her arrival. His/her electoral card shall be attached to an excerpt from a special list.
(6) No other personnel, including the members of the district election commission or special district election commission, may enter the section designated for the completion of ballot tickets with any voter. This provision does not apply to voters unable to complete their ballot tickets themselves due to disability or illiteracy. Such voters may be accompanied by another voter, excluding the members of the district election commission and special district election commission, who will complete their ballot ticket in accordance with their instructions and place it in an official envelope.
(7) Any voter may ask his/her local authority and – during the elections – also the relevant district election commission to be allowed to vote outside the polling station, at a place located in the area falling within the district election commission’s territorial competence, due to serious, above all health-related, reasons. In such a case, the district election commission concerned shall send two of its members equipped with a mobile ballot box, an official envelope and ballot tickets to the place chosen by the voter. The members of the district election commission are obligated to proceed in compliance with the principles of secret ballot. Mobile ballot boxes may not be used for voting purposes outside the territory of the Czech Republic.
Article 19a
Voting Procedure
(1) After receiving an official envelope and ballot tickets – where applicable – each voter shall enter the section designated for the completion of ballot tickets.
(2) After leaving the section designated for the completion of ballot tickets, each voter shall place the envelope containing his/her ballot ticket into a ballot box before the district election commission or special district election commission. If a voter is unable to place the envelope containing his/her ballot ticket into a ballot box, he/she may ask any other voter, except for the members of the district election commission and special district election commission, to do so on his/her behalf.
(3) The voters who do not enter the section designated for the completion of ballot tickets shall not be permitted to vote by the district election commission or special district election commission.
(4) Any voter not living within the territory of the Czech Republic and taking part in the elections to the Senate shall submit his/her electoral card issued by an embassy in compliance with Article 6a, Section 1 to a district election commission after his/her arrival in the polling station. His/her electoral card shall be attached to an excerpt from a special list.
Article 20
Order at the Polling Station and its Immediate Vicinity
The order at each polling station and its immediate vicinity falls within the responsibility of the chairperson of the relevant district election commission or special district election commission. His/her instructions concerning the order and undisturbed course of the voting are binding for all persons present.
Article 21
Suspension of the Voting
(1) After the first day of the elections each district election commission and special district election commission shall seal all ballot boxes and mobile ballot boxes – where applicable – in a way ensuring that no ballot tickets may be removed or placed inside and secure all other election-related documents. Before the commencement of voting on the second day of the elections each district election commission and special district election commission shall check whether the seals are unbroken and remove them.
(2) If any circumstance preventing the voting from being commenced, continued or concluded occurs, the district election commission or special district election commission may postpone the beginning of the voting, suspend the course of the voting or extend the time limit of the voting by up to 1 hour. Such a measure must be reported by the district election commission to the voters, local authority and designated local authority in a customary way. It must also be reported to the relevant regional authority (in the case of elections to the Chamber of Deputies) or the relevant designated local authority in the seat of the election district (in the case of elections to the Senate). If the voting is suspended, the district election commission or special district election commission shall secure all election documents and seal both the ballot box and the mobile ballot box in a way warranting that no official envelope may be placed inside or removed. When the voting is resumed, the chairperson of the district election commission or special district election commission shall check that the seals are not broken and then remove them in the presence of the remaining members.
Article 21a
(1) Any competent regional authority or designated local authority may carry out on-site checks of the voting and/or check the process of counting of the votes by the members of the district election commission. Any such inspection shall be recorded and the resulting report attached to election documents.
(2) All instructions of competent regional authorities and designated local authorities, except for instructions concerning determination of election results, must be followed by the district election commissions. All detected minor problems shall be dealt with immediately by the chairperson of the district election commission concerned in compliance with the instructions of the competent regional authority or designated local authority. If serious problems are detected, the competent regional authority or designated local authority shall instruct the district election commission concerned to deal with them in compliance with Section 21.
Article 22
Conclusion of the Voting
(1) Each polling station shall be closed at the end of the time limit designated for the voting. However, all voters present inside polling stations or waiting outside shall be allowed by the district election commissions to vote. After that the chairpersons of the district election commissions or special district election commissions shall declare the voting concluded.
(2) As soon as the chairperson of a special district election commission in a special election district declares the voting taking place in compliance with Article 1, Section 5 as concluded, the special district elections omission shall proceed in compliance with the first sentence of Section 1 of Article 21, suspending its session until the counting of the votes begins (Article 40).
Article 23
The persons entitled to be present in the room in which the votes are being counted by the district election commissions include the employees of the Czech Statistical Office authorised in compliance with Article 11, Section 2, Subsection e), the employees of local authorities working for designated local authorities certified in compliance with special legal regulations5c), the employees of regional authorities certified in compliance with special legal regulations5k), members of the State Election Commission and its secretariat and other personnel approved by the State Election Commission.
Section Two
Elections to the Chamber of Deputies
Article 24
The Chamber of Deputies has 200 members elected for four years8).
Article 25
Any voter aged at least 21 years on the second day of the elections at the latest and not legally disqualified from exercising his/her right to vote in compliance with Article 2, Subsection b) may be elected to the Chamber of Deputies.
Article 26
The elections to the Chamber of Deputies are held in all election regions of the Czech Republic in compliance with the principle of proportional representation. Each higher self-governed unit defined by special legal regulations8a) is regarded as an election region.
Article 27
Caption Deleted
All special election districts abroad shall be subordinated to election regions drawn by the State Election Commission within 7 days following the declaration of the elections by the president of the republic.
Article 28
Deleted
Article 29
Deleted
Article 30
Deleted
Article 31
Presentation of Candidate Lists
(1) Any registered political party and movement whose activities have not been suspended9), including any coalition thereof, may present a candidate list for the elections to the Chamber of Deputies. In order to be registered, every candidate list presented by a coalition must be clearly marked as a coalition candidate list by all the political parties and movements associated in it and must feature the name of such coalition and the names of all its members.
(2) Each political party, movement and coalition may only present one candidate list for the elections to the Chamber of Deputies in any given election district. If a political party or movement presents its own separate candidate list, it cannot form a coalition with other political parties or movements. Each political party and movement may be associated in one coalition only. Each coalition must be formed by the same political parties and/or movements in all election regions. Each candidate may be included in one candidate list for the elections to the Chamber of Deputies only.
(3) Each political party, movement or coalition must present its candidate list through its authorised representative to the competent regional authority no later than 66 days before the date of the elections. The regional authority shall confirm its acceptance of each candidate list to the relevant authorised representative.
(4) Each political party, movement or coalition shall attach to its candidate list a receipt confirming that its statutory contribution to election expenses (hereinafter only the “contribution”) totalling CZK 15,000.00 has been duly settled. The contribution has to be paid by political parties, movements or coalitions in each election region in which they are presenting their candidate lists to special accounts established by regional authorities no later than 72 days before the date of the elections and conducted by the Czech National Bank. The contributions of political parties, movements and coalitions form a part of the revenues of the State Budget.
Article 32
The Particulars of Candidate Lists
(1) Each candidate list must include
a) the name of the election region in which it is being presented,b) the name of the political party, movement or coalition presenting it and – if it is being presented by a coalition – the political parties or movements forming it,
c) the first name and surname of each candidate, his/her date of birth and sex, the district in which he/she has a permanent address, the name of the political party or movement of which he/she is member or a statement that the candidate is not a member of any political party or movement (hereinafter only “without party affiliation”),
d) the candidate’s place in the candidate list specified by Arabic numerals,
e) the first name(s) and surname of the representative of the political party, movement or coalition concerned and his/her permanent address; each political party, movement and coalition is entitled to specify an alternative representative, stating his/her first name(s) and surname and his/her permanent address,
f) the name of the political party or movement proposing a coalition candidate,
g) the signature of the representative of the political party, movement or coalition concerned,
h) the first name and surname of the person authorised to act on behalf of the political party or movement concerned, his/her official title and his/her signature; the first names and surnames of the persons authorised to act on behalf of the political parties and movements forming a coalition, their official titles and their signatures.
(2) Each candidate featured in any candidate list must provide and enclose a written statement signed in his/her own hand in which he/she agrees to stand as a candidate and in which he/she declares that he/she is not aware of any disqualifying circumstances or that any and all existing disqualifying circumstances will pass as of the date of the elections to the Chamber of Deputies and that he/she has not agreed to be featured in any candidate list for the elections to the Chamber of Deputies. He/she must also state his/her permanent address and his/her Birth Identification Number.
(3) The highest number of candidates included by any political party, movement or coalition in its candidate list for any given election region is specified in Appendix No. 2 to this act of law.
(4) New candidates may be added to candidate lists and their order changed 60 days before the date of the elections at the latest.
(5) Each political party, movement and coalition acts in all election-related matters through its authorised representative. Any person, except for persons younger than 18 years of age, legally disqualified persons and candidates, designated as such in the relevant candidate list may become an authorised representative or an alternate representative. Each political party, movement and coalition is bound by all election-related acts of its authorised representative. Each political party, movement or coalition may revoke the authorisation of its representative or alternate representative in writing. The authorisation shall be regarded as revoked as soon as delivered to the relevant regional authority.
Article 33
Consideration and Registration of Candidate Lists
(1) Each regional authority shall consider all presented candidate lists during a period starting 66 and ending 60 days before the elections. If any candidate list is not presented in compliance with Article 31, if it does not feature all the particulars specified in Article 32 or if it includes incorrect facts, the regional authority shall ask the political party, movement or coalition concerned in writing through its representative no later than 58 days before the date of elections to correct its candidate list no later than 50 days before the date of elections.
(2) If a political party, movement or coalition fails to correct any error concerning one of its candidates within the aforementioned time limit, the regional authority shall decide no later than 49 days before the date of election to
a) delete such candidate from any candidate list not featuring the statement specified in Article 32, Section 2 or featuring the statement in an incorrect or incomplete version,b) delete any such candidate included according to the Czech Statistical Office in the candidate lists of several election regions or in several candidate lists in the same election region from the candidate list of any election region not featuring the statement specified in Article 32, Section 2; if the candidate’s signed statement is attached to several candidate lists, he/she shall be deleted from all candidate lists in all election regions,
c) delete all candidates exceeding the maximum possible number of candidates defined in Article 32, Section 3,
d) delete any candidate not stating the particulars defined in Article 32, Section 1, Subsections b) and f) or stating them incorrectly or incompletely,
e) delete any candidate not meeting the qualification conditions defined in Article 25.
(3) Each regional authority shall decide no later than 49 days before the date of the elections to
a) register the candidate lists meeting all particulars defined in this act of law,
b) reject all candidate lists not presented in compliance with Article 31 or not featuring the particulars defined in Article 32, unless it is possible to proceed in compliance with Sections 1 and 2.
(4) Each regional authority shall produce the relevant resolution on registration of a candidate list, resolution on rejection of a candidate list or resolution on deletion of a candidate from a candidate list immediately, sending it to the subject entitled to seek protection at a court of justice (Article 86); at the same time, it shall publish its resolution on its official board, indicating the date of its publication. Any resolution shall be regarded as duly delivered on the third day following its publication.
(5) Each resolution on registration, resolution on rejection of a candidate list and resolution on deletion of a candidate from a candidate list must feature a verdict, including the legal norm on which it is based, its justification, including all facts that have been taken into account, and all relevant appeal information. Regional authorities are not required to justify their resolutions on registration. The body issuing a resolution must be identified in its written form. Each resolution must also feature the date of its adoption. All resolutions must be stamped with official stamp and signed and feature the first name(s), surname and title of the regional authority employee issuing them.
(6) Each regional authority shall forward a list of all political parties, movements and coalitions, whose coalition lists have been duly presented, to the State Election Commission. The State Election Commission shall draw the number to be featured on all ballot papers for the elections to the Chamber of Deputies no later than 45 days before the date of the elections. The State Election Commission shall inform all political parties, movements and coalitions standing for the elections as well as all regional authorities of the result of its draw through its chairman.
(7) Any regional authority shall register a candidate list even after the end of the time limit specified in Section 3, but no later than 20 days before the date of the elections, if ordered to do so by a court of justice in compliance with special legal regulations10). Such registration cannot be challenged at a court of justice.
(8) Each political party, movement and coalition whose candidate list has not been registered even in compliance with a judicial resolution pursuant to special legal regulations shall be refunded its contribution to election expenses within 1 month. If any other amount has been transferred to the special account established by the regional authority concerned than that specified in Article 31, Section 4, the regional authority shall return it to its sender without unnecessary delay.
(9) Registration is one of the conditions of the printing of ballot papers.
Article 34
Deleted
Article 35
Deleted
Article 36
Withdrawals and Resignations of Candidates
(1) Any candidate may resign from a candidate list in writing at least 48 hours before the date of the election. Any political party, movement or coalition may also withdraw its nomination of any candidate through its authorised representative in the same way. Neither statement can be withdrawn.
(2) All withdrawal or resignation statements must be delivered to regional authorities.
(3) If a resignation or withdrawal statement is delivered before the registration of the relevant candidate list, the candidate concerned shall not be featured on ballot tickets and the regional authority concerned shall change the order of the remaining candidates accordingly.
(4) If a resignation or withdrawal statement is delivered after the registration of the relevant candidate list, the concerned candidate’s details shall remain in the candidate list but the preference votes given to such candidate during the elections to the Chamber of Deputies shall be disregarded. If a resignation or withdrawal statement is received at least 48 hours before the beginning of the elections to the Chamber of Deputies, the regional authority concerned shall have it posted at all polling stations located within its territory and make sure that it is posted at all polling stations abroad by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Article 37
If a political party or movement is dissolved or its activities suspended after its candidate list has been registered, such political party or movement as well as its candidates shall be disregarded in the process of allocation of mandates.
Article 38
Ballot Tickets
(1) After registering all candidate lists, each regional authority shall arrange the printing of ballot tickets. Each political party, movement and coalition shall have its own ballot tickets.
(2) Each ballot ticket must feature the name of the election region in which it is to be used, the number drawn in compliance with Article 8, Section 2, Subsection c), full name of the political party, movement or coalition concerned, each candidate’s first name(s) and surname, citizenship, age, occupation, permanent address, place in the candidate list specified by Arabic numeral and membership in a political party or movement or the fact that he/she is without party affiliation. If the candidate stands for a coalition, it is necessary to state the political party or movement by which he/she has been nominated and all political parties and movements forming such coalition. The authorised representatives of all political parties, movements and coalitions may check whether the details featured in ballot tickets are correct before their printing.
(3) All ballot papers must be printed in the same font of the same size on paper of the same colour, quality and dimensions. All ballot papers must be stamped with the official stamp of the relevant regional authority.
(4) Each regional authority shall forward ballot papers through designated local authorities to mayors who will be in charge of distributing them among the voters no later than 3 days before the date of the election and sending them to all district election commissions on the day of the elections. The distribution of ballot papers in municipalities having no mayor shall be organised by deputy mayor. The distribution of ballot papers in municipalities having no mayor and no deputy mayor shall be organised by the executive director of the relevant regional authority (the executive director of the Metropolitan Authority of the City of Prague) (hereinafter only the “executive director of regional authority”).
(5) Each regional authority shall send the ballot tickets to be used in special election districts to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall distribute them to all embassies specified in its edict no later than 48 hours before the beginning of the elections. To all other embassies the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall send the ballot tickets through transmission means no later than 3 days before the date of the elections. The head of each such embassy shall organise their printing or duplication in sufficient volumes no later than 24 hours before the beginning of the elections. Every voter voting in a special election district shall receive his/her ballot tickets at a polling station.
(6) Ballot papers featuring obvious printing errors shall not be reprinted; each regional authority shall make sure that information on such errors are made available at every polling station located within its territory, together with their correct version. Each regional authority shall make sure that the aforementioned information on errors is published at all polling stations located outside the territory of the Czech Republic through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Article 39
Voting Procedure
In the section designated for the completion of ballot tickets each voter shall place one ballot ticket into the official envelope. He/she may circle the identification numbers of up to 4 candidates on any ballot ticket and – on the same ballot ticket – indicate his/her preference of one of them. No other modifications of a ballot ticket shall be taken into account in the course of its consideration.
Article 40
Determination of Election Results by the district election commissions and Special District Election Commissions
(1) All special district election commissions shall start counting the votes as soon as the time limit specified for the conclusion of voting within the territory of the Czech Republic ends.
(2) As soon as the time limit specified for the conclusion of voting within the territory of the Czech Republic ends, the chairperson of each district election commission and special district election commission shall have all remaining unused ballot tickets, except for those designated for the counting of preferential votes, and official envelopes sealed (Article 42, Section 3). Next, all ballot boxes shall be opened.
(3) All official envelopes containing ballot tickets shall be taken out of individual ballot boxes by the district election commission or special district election commission. All mobile ballot boxes, if they have been deployed by the district election commission at an expressive request of individual voters, shall also be opened, all official envelopes containing ballot tickets shall be taken out and the content of all ballot boxes shall be mixed together. All envelopes that are not official envelopes shall be excluded by the district election commission. All ballot tickets put in any ballot box or mobile ballot box without an official envelope shall be also excluded. After that, all official envelopes shall be counted by the district election commission or special district election commission and their number compared with the figures recorded in excerpts from permanent and special lists.
(4) All ballot tickets shall be taken out of official envelopes by the district election commission or special district election commission. All invalid ballot tickets shall be excluded and the remaining valid ballot tickets divided into groups according to individual political parties, movements and coalitions. The votes given to individual political parties, movements and coalitions as well as all preferential votes given to individual candidates shall be counted.
(5) Each member of the district election commission or special district election commission is entitled to check ballot tickets. The chairperson of the district election commission or special district election commission shall monitor the process of counting.
Article 41
Assessment of Ballot Tickets
(1) Even those ballot tickets on which the names of individual candidates have been crossed out, changed or added shall be counted and allocated to individual political parties, movements and coalitions. All such modification shall, however, be disregarded. If a voter gives his/her preferential vote to more than 4 candidates, his/her ballot ticket shall be duly allocated to the relevant political party, movement or coalition but all preferential votes shall be disregarded.
(2) Those ballot tickets that do not correspond with the official form, have not been printed or duplicated by embassy, are torn or are not placed in an official envelope shall be regarded as void. Folded or damaged ballot tickets shall be regarded as valid as long as they include all relevant required information. If an envelope contains more than one ballot ticket, its content shall be regarded as void.
(3) The validity of ballot tickets shall be confirmed by the district election commission or special district election commission.
Article 42
Records of the Course and Results of the Voting
(1) Each district election commission or special district election commission shall produce a record of the course and results of the voting in two counterparts. The record shall be signed by all members of the district election commission or special district election commission. Should any member refuse to sign it, his/her reasons shall be specified in a separate schedule.
(2) Each record of the course and results of the voting produced by the district election commission or special district election commission shall specify:
a) the beginning and conclusion of the voting and – where applicable – the beginning and conclusion of its postponement, suspension or extension, including the reasons thereof,b) the overall number of persons in the election district included in excerpts from permanent and special lists,
c) the number of voters issued with official envelopes,
d) the amount of returned official envelopes,
e) the amount of valid votes given to each political party, movement and coalition and the overall amount of valid votes,
f) the amount of valid preferential votes given to individual candidates,
g) a brief review of all notifications and complaints presented to and all resolutions adopted by the district election commission or special district election commission, including a rationale.
(3) To report the information specified in Section 2, Subsection f), the district election commission or special district election commission shall use the necessary amount of unused ballot tickets marked as accessory ballot tickets for the purpose of counting of preferential votes by the chairperson of the district election commission or special district election commission in the presence of other members of the district election commission or special district election commission after the end of the voting.
(4) Only the software supplied by the Czech Statistical Office may be used by the district election commissions and special district election commissions to produce computer records of the course and result of the voting and/or to record election-related data on a medium.
Article 43
Forwarding of the Record of the Course and Results of the Voting to the Czech Statistical Office
(1) As soon as a record of the course and results of the voting in the election district is signed, the chairperson of the district election commission or another authorised member of the district election commission shall immediately hand one counterpart, together with the results of the voting, where applicable, on a data medium over to the Czech Statistical Office through its temporary office located within the premises of the designated local authority.
(2) As soon as a record of the course and results of the voting in a special election district is signed, the chairperson of the special district election commission or another authorised member of the special district election commission shall immediately hand one counterpart, together with the results of the voting, where applicable, on a data medium over to the Czech Statistical Office through its office located within the premises of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
(3) If the forwarded record of the course and results of the voting contains errors and the chairperson of the district election commission or another authorised member of the district election commission is entitled to make changes in the record of the course and results of the voting, all such errors shall be corrected on the spot. If the chairperson of the district election commission or another authorised member of the district election commission is not entitled to make changes or if materials located at the polling station are necessary in order to correct such errors, the record of the course and results of the voting shall be rejected and an additional time limit for the correction of all errors and production of a new record of the course and results of the voting specified.
(4) If the forwarded record of the course and results of the voting in a special election district contains errors, it shall be rejected and an additional time limit for the correction of all errors and production of a new record of the course and results of the voting specified.
(5) After handing the record of the course and results of the voting over for further processing, the chairperson of the district election commission or special district election commission, or another authorised member of the district election commission or special district election commission, shall receive a written document in the form of a computer configuration confirming that the results of the voting in his/her election district or special election district have been forwarded for further processing without errors. The chairperson of the special district election commission or another authorised member of special district election commission shall receive the aforementioned document through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Czech Statistical Office shall also issue a directive stating that district election commission or special district election commission may end its session. The provisions of Article 52a shall remain unaffected.
(6) Should any district election commission or special district election commission fail to meet its obligations specified in Section 1 or Section 2 at the request of the Czech Statistical Office within 24 hours after starting to count the votes in compliance with Article 40, or within the time limit specified in Section 3 or 4 herein, such an election district or special election district may be disqualified and not included in overall voting results. After the expiration of the said period the voting results achieved in such election district or special election district shall be disregarded.
(7) All returned ballot tickets and official envelopes, excerpts from permanent and special lists, one counterpart of the record of the course and results of the voting, all submitted electoral cards, confirmation of the acceptance of the voting results for further processing and all reports on the inspections carried out by regional or designated local authorities shall be sealed by the district election commission or special district election commission and handed over, together with all other election-related documents, to the local authority for safekeeping or to the relevant embassy which will forward it to the District Authority of Prague 1 through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Article 44
Deleted
Article 45
Provision of Information on the Elections to the Chamber of Deputies for Political Parties, Movements and Coalitions
(1) Every political party, movement and coalition whose candidate list has been registered in the election region may, at least 15 days before the date of elections, inform the Czech Statistical Office of its contact address. The Czech Statistical Office shall immediately provide any such political party, movement and coalition with parameters that can be used to establish technical connection with the Czech Statistical Office and to obtain information on the results of the elections within the election region and the territory of the Czech Republic in electronic form. The cost of such connection shall be borne by the political parties, movements and coalitions.
(2) Immediately after signing each record on the results of the election in the election region, the Czech Statistical Office shall send summary information on the results of the elections in written or electronic form to the respective addresses of authorised representatives of all political parties, movements and coalitions whose candidate lists have been registered.
Article 46
Determination of Election Results in Election Region
(1) The office of the Czech Statistical Office located within the premises of regional authorities shall collect the results of voting in all relevant election districts and/or special election districts that have submitted records of the results and course of the elections in compliance with Article 43 and determine the results of the elections in the election region.
(2) The Czech Statistical Office shall produce two counterparts of its record of the results of the elections in the election region and forward them to regional authorities without delay.
(3) Each record of the results of the elections in the election region shall feature
a) the amount of election districts in the election region or the amount of special elections districts, and the amount of the district election commissions or special district election commissions that have already delivered election results,b) the overall number of personnel in election region registered in excerpts from permanent and special lists,
c) the overall number of voters in the election region issued with official envelopes,
d) the overall amount of returned official envelopes in the election region,
e) the overall amount of valid votes given to individual political parties, movements and coalitions in the election region and the overall amount of valid votes in the election region,
f) the overall amount of preferential votes given to individual candidates.
(4) Each record of the results of the elections in the election region shall be signed by:
a) the director of regional authority,b) an employee of regional authority,
c) an employee of the Czech Statistical Office.
(5) As soon as both counterparts are signed, the regional authority shall immediately hand one counterpart over to the Czech Statistical Office. The second counterpart and all other election-related documents shall be archived.
Article 47
Deleted
Article 48
Determination of the Number of Deputies Elected in Election Regions
(1) Using the voting results of individual election districts and special election districts provided by designated local authorities in compliance with Article 43, the Czech Statistical Office shall determine the overall amount of valid votes given to all political parties, movements and coalitions in all election regions and divide it by the number of deputies. The result, rounded to whole units, is the national mandate number.
(2) The overall amount of valid votes cast in every election region shall be divided by the national mandate number. The result determines the amount of mandates allocated to individual election regions.
(3) If all mandates are not allocated in the aforementioned way, the remaining mandates shall be allocated to those election regions showing the largest remainders in descending order. Should any two or more election regions show the same remainders, the election region(s) to receive the remaining mandate(s) shall be drawn.
Article 49
Inclusion of Political Parties, Movements and Coalitions in Scrutiny
(1) Using the records of the results of the elections in election regions, the Czech Statistical Office shall determine how many valid votes have been given to each political party, movement and coalition and also
a) which political parties or movements have acquired less than 5 per cent,b) which coalitions formed by 2 political parties or movements have acquired less than 10 per cent,
c) which coalitions formed by 3 political parties or movements have acquired less than 15 per cent,
d) which coalitions formed by at least 4 political parties or movements have acquired less than 20 per cent of the overall amount of valid votes.
(2) Such political parties, movements and coalitions shall be disregarded in the process of further determination of election results and allocation of mandates.
(3) Should the Czech Statistical Office determine in the aforementioned way that the scrutiny shall not include at least 2 coalitions, 1 coalition and 1 political party or movement or 2 political parties or movements, it shall reduce
a) the limit from 5 to 4 per cent in the case of political parties or movements,b) the limit from 10 to 6 per cent in the case of any coalition defined in Section 1, Subsection b),
c) the limit from 15 to 8 per cent in the case of any coalition defined in Section 1, Subsection c),
d) the limit from 20 to 10 per cent in the case of any coalition defined in Section 1, Subsection b).
If the condition specified in this Section is not met even after the application of Subsections a) through d), the Czech Statistical Office shall reduce the aforementioned limits by one per cent.
(4) All political parties, movements and coalitions included in scrutiny are allocated mandates within election regions.
Article 50
Scrutiny
(1) The overall amount of valid votes given to each political party, movement and coalition included in scrutiny shall be successively divided by 1, 2 and 3 and then always by a figure higher by 1. The total amount of calculated fractions shall correspond with the overall number of candidates specified in ballot ticket, excluding the candidates who have resigned or have been withdrawn after the registration of candidate lists in compliance with Article 36. All fractions shall be calculated to two decimal positions and rounded up.
(2) All fractions calculated in compliance with Section 1 shall be arranged in descending order. The resulting list of fractions must equal the number of mandates allocated to the election region in compliance with Article 48. If 2 or more fractions are equal, their order shall be determined by the overall amount of votes given to the political party, movement or coalition concerned in election region. If the amounts of votes are also the same, the order shall be drawn. Each fraction shall be stated together with the name of the political party, movement or coalition to which it relates.
(3) Each political party, movement and coalition shall receive 1 mandate for each fraction included in the list defined in Section 2 herein.
(4) The order in which the candidates of individual political parties, movements and coalitions receive mandates pursuant to Section 2 shall be determined by their order in ballot ticket.
(5) If the amount of preferential votes acquired by any candidate in the election region is equal to or exceeds 5% of the overall amount of valid votes given to his/her political party, movement or coalition in the election region, such candidate shall be given priority over the other candidates in the process of allocation of mandates.
(6) If more candidates meet the condition defined in Section 5 herein and their political party, movement or coalition acquires several mandates, all such candidates shall be given priority over the other candidates and the order of such candidates shall be determined by the actual amount of preferential votes acquired by each of them. If several candidates obtain the same amount of preferential votes, their order in the process of allocation of mandates shall be determined by their order on the ballot ticket. The order of all candidates not meeting the condition defined in Section 5 shall be determined by their order on the ballot ticket.
(7) The unelected candidates of all political parties, movements and coalitions acquiring at least 1 mandate shall become alternate members. The order of individual candidates within such political parties, movements and coalitions shall be specified in compliance with Sections 4 through 6.
Article 51
Caption Deleted
If the overall determined amount of valid votes or the amount of valid votes acquired in any election region by the political parties, movements and coalitions included in the scrutiny does not allow
a) the calculation defined in Article 48, Section 2, the Czech Statistical Office shall increase the national mandate number determined in compliance with Article 48, Section 1 by one,b) the allocation of mandates defined in Article 48, Section 3, the Czech Statistical Office shall deduct the excessive mandates from the amount of mandates received by the election regions showing the smallest remainders in ascending order. If two or more election regions show the same remainders, the election region(s) to lose the mandate(s) shall be drawn. If the specified amount of mandates is not allocated in the aforementioned way, the procedure specified in Article 48, Section 3 shall be repeated and the remaining mandates shall be allocated or the procedure specified in this Subsection shall be repeated and the excessive mandates removed.
Article 52
Record of the State Election Commission and Publication of Election Results
(1) After completing its scrutiny, the State Statistical Office shall forward the results to the State Election Commission which shall produce a record of election results signed by all its members. Should any member of the State Election Commission refuse to sign it, his/her reasons shall be specified in a separate schedule.
(2) Each record of the State Election Commission shall specify
a) the overall number of persons registered in excerpts from permanent and special lists,b) the overall number of voters issued with official envelopes,
c) the respective amounts of valid votes given to individual political parties, movements and coalitions in total and in individual election regions,
d) first names and surnames of all elected candidates in accordance with their membership in individual political parties, movements and coalitions, first names and surnames of all candidates acting as alternate members and information on preferential votes.
(3) The State Election Commission shall publish the overall result of the elections immediately after signing its record of election results.
Article 52a
Termination of the Activities of the district election commissions and Special District Election Commission Related to the Elections to the Chamber of Deputies
All activities of the district election commissions and special district election commissions related to the elections to the Chamber of Deputies shall be terminated fifteen days after the date of publication of the results of the elections to the Chamber of Deputies by the State Election Commission.
Article 53
Certificates of Election
(1) The State Election Commission shall provide each candidate elected to the Chamber of Deputies with a certificate verifying his/her election on the second day of the elections within 1 month following the date of publication of election results.
(2) The State Election Commission shall issue a certificate of election to an alternate candidate in compliance with Article 51 within 7 days after the effective date of the judicial verdict declaring the election of the original candidate invalid (Article 87).
Article 54
Succession of Alternate Members
(1) If a mandate becomes vacant, it shall be taken by an alternate member included in the candidate list of the same political party, movement or coalition. The order of such alternate members shall be determined by election results. If no such alternate member is available, the original mandate holder shall be replaced by another member of the same political party, movement of coalition. The order of such members shall be determined by the amount of valid votes given to the same candidate list. If the amount of valid votes is the same, the member shall be drawn.
(2) If no alternate member is included in the candidate list of the same political party, movement or coalition, the mandate shall remain vacant until the end of electoral term.
(3) If the political party or movement entitled to nominate an alternate member has been dissolved, the mandate shall remain vacant until the end of electoral term. However, if such a dissolved political party or movement stood in the elections as a part of a coalition, the mandate shall be taken by an alternate member from another political party or movement associated in the same coalition.
(4) The succession of an alternate member of the Chamber of Deputies shall be announced within 15 days following the date of expiration of the original mandate. The Chamber of Deputies shall provide each alternative member with a certificate confirming that he/she is a Deputy and specifying the effective date of his/her appointment.
(5) If the activities of any independent political party or movement or any political party or movement associated in a coalition are suspended, the mandate shall remain vacant for the entire suspension period.
Article 55
If the Chamber of Deputies is dissolved the time limits specified in Article 1, Section 3, Article 14c, Subsections c) and d), Article 14e, Section 3, Article 14g, Section 1, Article 31, Section 4, Article 32, Section 4 and Article 45, Section. 1 shall be reduced by one third and those specified in Article 31, Section 3 and Article 33, Sections 1, 3 and 6 by 20 days.
Section Three
Elections to the Senate
Article 56
The Senate has 81 Senators elected for six years. The elections to the Senate take place every two years and concern one third of the Senators11).
Article 57
Any voter aged at least 40 years on the second day of the elections at the latest and not legally disqualified from exercising his/her right to vote in compliance with Article 2, Subsection b) may be elected to the Senate.
Article 58
The elections to the Senate are held in all elections districts located within the territory of the Czech Republic in compliance with the principle of majority.
Article 59
(1) In total, 81 election districts are created within the territory of the Czech Republic for the purpose of the elections to the Senate. One Senator is elected in each election district. A list of election districts is attached to this act of law as Appendix No. 3.
(2) Should the population of any election district in the Czech Republic increase or decrease by 15 per cent in comparison with the average number of citizens per mandate, the territory of election districts shall be modified accordingly. Such modification shall be carried out only in the years in which the elections to the Senate are held.
Article 60
Presentation of Registration Applications
(1) Any registered political party and movement whose activities have not been suspended9), including any coalition thereof, may register its candidates for the elections to the Senate through its authorised representative only. All independent candidates shall present their registration applications individually. In order to be accepted, every registration application presented by a coalition must be clearly marked as a coalition registration application by all the political parties and movements associated in it and must feature the name of such coalition and the names of all its members. If a political party or movement registers its candidate in any election district as a part of a certain coalition, it shall be entitled to register different candidates in other election districts, either independently or as a part of different coalitions.
(2) Each political party, movement and coalition may only present one registration application for the elections to the Senate in any given election district. If a political party or movement presents its own separate registration application, it cannot form a coalition with other political parties or movements. Each political party and movement may be associated in one coalition only in any given election district.
(3) Each candidate may only stand in one election district and may only be included in one registration application.
(4) Each registration application must be presented no later than 66 days before the date of the elections to the relevant designated local authority in the seat of election district. The designated local authority in the seat of election district shall confirm its acceptance of each candidate list to the relevant authorised representative of political party, movement or coalition or the relevant independent candidate.
Article 61
Registration Application Particulars
(1) Each registration application shall feature
a) the candidate’s first name, surname, age, occupation and municipality of permanent residence,
b) the name of the political party, movement or coalition registering the candidate or a statement specifying that the candidate is independent; if the registration application is being presented by a coalition, it must include the names of all political parties and movements forming it,
c) the number and seat of the election district in which the candidate runs,
d) the candidate’s membership in political party or movement or a statement specifying that the candidate is without party affiliation,
e) the name of the political party or movement nominating a coalition candidate,
f) signature of the representative of the political party, movement or coalition concerned,
g) the first name and surname of the person authorised to act on behalf of the political party or movement concerned, his/her official title and his/her signature; the first names and surnames of the persons authorised to act on behalf of the political parties and movements forming a coalition, their official titles and their signatures; if the registration application is being presented by an independent candidate, he/she must add his/her signature.
(2) Each registration application must also contain
a) documents establishing the candidate’s citizenship7),
b) the candidate’s written statement signed in his/her own hand in which he/she agrees to stand as a candidate and in which he/she declares that he/she is not aware of any disqualifying circumstances or that any and all existing disqualifying circumstances will pass as of the date of elections and that he/she has not agreed to be featured in any other registration application presented in another election district; he/she must also specify whether he/she is a member of any political party or movement or whether he/she is without party affiliation and state his/her permanent address and his/her Birth Identification Number,
c) the first name, surname and permanent address of the authorised representative of the political party, movement or coalition presenting the registration application in a special schedule; each political party, movement and coalition shall also be entitled to designate an alternate representative, stating his/her first name, surname and permanent address,
d) petition supporting an independent candidate, signed by at least 1,000 qualified voters from the election district in which such an independent candidate stands; each signed voter must state his/her first name, surname, Birth Identification Number and permanent address; if any voter fails to state the aforementioned particulars, states such particulars incorrectly or fails to sign the petition, he/she shall be disregarded; the caption of each petition shall feature the candidate’s first name and surname, the number and seat of the election district in which he/she stands and the year of the elections,
e) receipt confirming that a deposit totalling CZK 20,000.00 has been duly settled; the deposit has to be paid to a special account established by designated local authority in the seat of election district no later than 72 days before the date of the elections and conducted by the Czech National Bank; the relevant district authority in the seat of election district shall return the aforementioned deposit to every candidate acquiring at least 6 per cent of the overall amount of valid votes no later than 1 month after the publication of election results; any interest on the deposits and all unreturned deposits form a part of the revenues of the State Budget.
(3) Any person, except for persons younger than 18 years of age, legally disqualified persons and candidates, may become an authorised representative or an alternate representative. Each political party, movement and coalition is bound by all election-related acts of its authorised representative. Each political party, movement or coalition may revoke the authorisation of its representative or alternate representative in writing. The authorisation shall be regarded as revoked as soon as delivered to the relevant designated local authority in the seat of election district. Independent candidates cannot have representatives.
Article 62
Consideration and Registration of Registration Applications
(1) Each designated local authority in the seat of election district shall consider all presented registration applications during a period starting 66 and ending 60 days before the elections. If any registration application does not feature all the particulars specified in Article 61 or if it includes incorrect facts, the designated local authority in the seat of election district shall ask the candidate concerned or the political party, movement or coalition concerned through its representative in writing no later than 58 days before the date of elections to corrects it application registration no later than 50 days before the date of elections.
(2) If a political party, movement or coalition or independent candidate fails to correct any such error within the aforementioned time limit, the designated local authority in the seat of election district shall decide no later than 49 days before the date of the election to reject any registration application
a) not presented in compliance with Article 60,b) not featuring the particulars specified in Article 61, Section 1 or featuring incorrect or incomplete particulars,
c) not featuring the appendix defined in Article 61, Section 2, Subsections a) through c), or featuring incorrect or incomplete information in such appendix,
d) not featuring the petition defined in Article 61, Section 2, Subsection d), or featuring such petition with insufficient amount of signatures,
e) not featuring the confirmation of deposit payment defined in Article 61, Section 2, Subsection e), or featuring a confirmation stating an incorrect amount,
f) presented in accordance with information received from the Czech Statistical Office in several election districts with the name of the same candidate; the registration application shall be also rejected if a candidate is featured in several applications presented in the same election district or if it does not feature the statement specified in Article 61, Section 2, Subsection b); if a candidate attaches the aforementioned statement to several registration applications and presents it to several designated local authorities in the seat of election districts, he/she shall be rejected by all such designated local authorities,
g) of a candidate not meeting the qualification conditions specified in Article 57.
(3) Each designated local authority in the seat of the election district shall decide to register all correct registration applications no later than 49 days before the date of the elections.
(4) Each designated local authority in the seat of election district shall produce the relevant resolution on registration or rejection of registration application immediately, sending it to the subject entitled to seek protection at a court of justice (Article 86). At the same time, it shall publish its resolution on its official board, indicating the date of its publication. Any resolution shall be regarded as duly delivered on the third day following its publication.
(5) Each resolution on registration or rejection of registration application must feature a verdict, including the legal norm on which it is based, its justification, including all facts that have been taken into account, and all relevant appeal information. No justification is required in the case of registration resolutions. The body issuing each resolution must be identified in its written form. Each resolution must also feature the date of its adoption. All resolutions must be stamped with an official stamp and signed and feature the first name(s), surname and title of the employee of the designated local authority in the seat of election district issuing them.
(6) Each designated local authority in the seat of election district shall draw the number to be featured on all ballot papers for the elections to the Senate no later than 45 days before the date of the elections. It shall inform all political parties, movements and coalitions as well as all independent candidates standing for the elections of the result of its draw in writing.
(7) Any designated local authority in the seat of election district shall register a registration application even after the end of the time limit specified in Section 3, but no later than 20 days before the date of the elections, if ordered to do so by a court of justice in compliance with special legal regulations10). Such registration cannot be challenged at a court of justice.
(8) Each candidate whose registration application has not been registered even in compliance with a judicial resolution pursuant to special legal regulations shall receive his/her deposit back from the relevant designated local authority in the seat of election district within 1 month. If any other amount has been transferred to the special account established by the designated local authority in the seat of election district, it shall be returned to its sender without unnecessary delay.
(9) Registration is one of the conditions of the printing of ballot papers.
(10) If any political party or movement is dissolved or its activities suspended after registering its candidate, such candidate shall be regarded as an independent candidate. He/she shall not be obligated to present a petition.
Article 63
Deleted
Article 64
Deleted
Article 65
Deleted
Article 66
Withdrawals and Resignations of Candidates
(1) Any candidate may resign in writing 48 hours before the date of the elections at the latest. Any political party, movement or coalition may withdraw its nomination of any candidate in the same way. Neither of the aforementioned written documents can be withdrawn.
(2) Each resignation or withdrawal statement must be delivered to the relevant designated local authority in the seat of the election district.
(3) If a resignation or withdrawal statement is made after registration, the preference votes given to such candidate shall be disregarded. If a resignation or withdrawal statement is received at least 48 hours before the beginning of the elections to the Senate, the relevant designated local authority in the seat of election district shall make sure that it is posted at all polling stations situated within its election district.
Article 67
Ballot Tickets
(1) After registering all registration applications, each designated local authority in the seat of election district shall organise the printing of ballot tickets.
(2) Each registered candidate shall be listed on a separate ballot ticket marked with his/her duly drawn unique number. The caption of each ballot ticket shall feature the number and seat of the election district in which it is to be used. Each ballot ticket shall also feature the candidate’s first name, surname, age, occupation, municipality in which he/she has his/her permanent address and the political party or movement of which he/she is a member or a statement specifying that he/she is without party affiliation. It is also necessary to state the political party, movement or coalition that has applied for the candidate’s registration. If the candidate has been registered by a coalition, it is necessary to specify all political parties and movements forming such coalition and to state the political party or movement nominating him/her. Any independent candidate may check personally whether the information stated on any ballot ticket is correct before its printing. Political parties and movements may check the same through their authorised representatives.
(3) All ballot tickets in each election district must be printed in the same font of the same size on paper of the same colour, quality and dimensions. All ballot papers must be stamped with the official stamp of the designated local authority in the seat of election district.
(4) Designated local authorities in the seat of the election district shall send ballot tickets through designated local authorities to mayors who shall arrange their distribution among all voters no later than 3 days before the date of the elections and among all district election commissions on the day of the elections. In municipalities where no mayor has been elected ballot tickets shall be distributed within the aforementioned time limit by the deputy mayor. In municipalities where no mayor and deputy mayor have been elected ballot tickets shall be distributed by the director of the regional authority.
(5) Ballot papers featuring obvious printing errors shall not be reprinted; each designated local authority in the seat of the election district shall make sure that information on such errors is made available at every polling station located within its territory, together with their correct version.
Article 68
Voting
Each voter shall place one ballot ticket into an official envelope in the section designated for the completion of ballot tickets. Ballot tickets may not be modified in any way.
Article 69
Determination of Election Results by the district election commission
(1) As soon as the time limit specified for the conclusion of voting ends, the chairperson of each district election commission shall have all remaining unused ballot tickets and official envelopes sealed. Next, all ballot boxes shall be opened.
(2) All official envelopes containing ballot tickets shall be taken out of individual ballot boxes by the district election commission. All mobile ballot boxes, if they have been deployed by the district election commission at an expressive request of individual voters, shall be also opened, all official envelopes containing ballot tickets shall be taken out and the content of all ballot boxes shall be mixed together. All envelopes that are not official envelopes shall be excluded by the district election commission. All ballot tickets put in any ballot box or mobile ballot box without an official envelope shall also be excluded. After that, all official envelopes shall be counted by the district election commission and their number compared with the figures recorded in excerpts from permanent and special lists.
(3) After taking all ballot tickets out from official envelopes, district election commissions shall divide them into groups in accordance with individual candidates and count each of them.
(4) Each member of the district election commission is entitled to check ballot tickets. The chairperson of the district election commission shall monitor the process of counting.
Article 70
Assessment of Ballot Tickets
(1) Even those ballot tickets that have been modified by voters shall be counted and allocated to individual candidates.
(2) Those ballot tickets that do not correspond with the official form, are torn or are not placed in an official envelope shall be regarded as void. Folded or damaged ballot tickets shall be regarded as valid as long as they include all the relevant required information. If an envelope contains more than one ballot ticket, its content shall be regarded as void.
(3) The validity of ballot tickets shall be confirmed by the district election commission.
Article 71
Records of the Course and Results of the Voting
(1) Each district election commission shall produce a record of the course and results of the voting in two counterparts. The record shall be signed by all members of the district election commission. Should any member refuse to sign it, his/her reasons shall be specified in a separate schedule.
(2) Each record of the course and results of the voting produced by the district election commission shall specify:
a) the beginning and conclusion of the voting and – where applicable – the beginning and conclusion of its postponement, suspension or extension, including the reasons thereof,b) the overall number of persons in election district included in excerpts from permanent and special lists,
c) the number of voters issued with official envelopes,
d) the amount of returned official envelopes,
e) the amount of valid votes given to each candidate and the overall amount of valid votes given to all candidates,
f) a brief review of all notifications and complaints presented to and all resolutions adopted by the district election commission, including a rationale.
(3) Only the software supplied by the Czech Statistical Office may be used by the district election commissions to produce computer records of the course and result of the voting and/or to record election-related data on a medium.
Article 72
Caption deleted
(1) As soon as a record of the course and results of the voting in the election district is signed, the chairperson of the district election commission or another authorised member of the district election commission shall immediately hand one counterpart, together with the results of the voting, where applicable, on a data medium over to the Czech Statistical Office through its temporary office located within the premises of the designated local authority.
(2) If the forwarded record of the course and results of the voting contains errors and the chairperson of the district election commission or another authorised member of the district election commission is entitled to make changes in the record of the course and results of the voting, all such errors shall be corrected on the spot. If the chairperson of the district election commission or another authorised member of the district election commission is not entitled to make changes or if materials located at polling station are necessary in order to correct such errors, the record of the course and results of the voting shall be rejected and an additional time limit for the correction of all errors and production of a new record of the course and results of the voting specified.
(3) After handing the record of the course and results of the voting over for further processing, the chairperson of the district election commission or another authorised member of the district election commission shall receive a written document in the form of a computer configuration confirming that the results of the voting in his/her election district have been forwarded for further processing without errors. The Czech Statistical Office shall also issue a directive stating that district election commission may end its session on the second day of the elections. The provisions of Article 77a shall remain unaffected.
(4) Should any district election commission fail to meet its obligations specified in Section 1 at the request of the Czech Statistical Office within 24 hours after the end of the voting (Article 22), or within the time limit specified in Section 2 herein, such an election district may be disqualified and not included in overall voting results. After the expiration of the said period the voting results achieved in such election district shall be disregarded.
(5) All returned ballot tickets and official envelopes, excerpts from permanent and special lists, one counterpart of the record of the course and results of the voting, all submitted electoral cards, confirmation of the acceptance of the voting results for further processing and all reports on the inspections carried out by regional or designated local authorities shall be sealed by the district election commission and handed over, together with all other election-related documents, to the local authority for safekeeping.
Article 72a
Provision of Information on the Elections to the Senate for Political Parties, Movements and Coalitions and for Independent Candidates
(1) Every political party, movement and coalition and every independent candidate whose registration application has been accepted in the election region may, at least 15 days before the date of the elections, inform the relevant designated local authority in the seat of election district of its contact address. The Czech Statistical Office shall immediately provide any such political party, movement and coalition and independent candidate with parameters that can be used to establish technical connection with the Czech Statistical Office and to obtain information on the results of the elections within the election region in electronic form. The cost of such connection shall be borne by the political parties, movements and coalitions and independent candidates.
(2) Immediately after signing each record on the results of the election in the election region, the Czech Statistical Office shall send summary information on the results of the elections in the relevant election region in written or electronic form to the respective addresses of authorised representatives of all political parties, movements and coalitions and independent candidates whose registration applications have been registered in that election region.
Article 73
Determination of Election Results in Election Region
(1) The office of the Czech Statistical Office located within the premises of designated local authorities in the seat of election district shall collect the results of voting in all relevant election districts that have submitted records of the results and course of the elections in compliance with Article 72, Section 1 and determine the results of the elections in election district.
(2) The Czech Statistical Office shall produce two counterparts of its record of the results of the elections in election district and forward them to designated local authorities in the seat of election district without delay.
(3) Each record of the results of the elections in election district shall feature
a) the amount of election districts in election precinct and the amount of the district election commissions that have already delivered election results,b) the overall number of personnel in election district registered in excerpts from permanent and special lists,
c) the overall number of voters in election district issued with official envelopes,
d) the overall amount of returned official envelopes in the election district,
e) the overall amount of valid votes given to all candidates in the election district,
f) the order of individual candidates determined by the amount of acquired valid votes, the amount of acquired valid votes and the percentage of acquired valid votes calculated as a proportion of the amount of acquired valid votes in the overall amount of valid votes returned in the election district; the order of the candidates acquiring the same amount of votes shall be drawn,
g) the elected candidate’s first name and surname (Article 75) or a statement that no candidate has acquired the amount of votes necessary for his/her election.
(4) Each record of the results of the elections in the election district shall be signed by
a) the mayor of the municipality in which the designated local authority in the seat of election district is situated,b) an employee of local authority in the seat of the election district,
c) an employee of the Czech Statistical Office.
(5) As soon as both counterparts are signed, the designated local authority in the seat of election district shall immediately hand one counterpart over to the Czech Statistical Office. The second counterpart and all other election-related documents shall be archived.
(6) The Czech Statistical Office shall forward a summary of election results in all election district to the State Election Commission.
Article 74
Deleted
Article 75
The candidate acquiring absolute majority of all cast valid votes shall be elected.
Article 76
(1) If none of the candidates acquires the amount of votes specified in Article 75, the designated local authority in the seat of election district shall organise a second round no later than six days after the end of the first round.
(2) Only the first two candidates who acquired the highest amount of votes in the first round shall run in the second round in any given election district where the second round is taking place.
(3) If any of the two candidates who acquired the highest amount of votes in the first round resigns, is legally disqualified or dies before the second round, he/she shall be replaced by the candidate who finished third in the first round. In such a case, the second round shall take place thirteen days after the end of the first round.
(4) The printing of ballot tickets shall be organised in compliance with Article 67 Sections 1 through 3, with the ballot tickets of the two most successful candidates from the first round printed on paper of a different colour. All ballot tickets shall be sent by designated local authorities in the seat of the election district to mayors of local authorities who shall organise their distribution among individual district election commission before the beginning of the voting. All voters shall receive their ballot tickets at polling stations on election days.
(5) The candidate acquiring the highest amount of votes in the second round shall be elected. If the same amount of votes is given to the candidates, the candidate that is to become a senator shall be drawn.
(6) The provisions of this act of law concerning the elections to the Senate shall be applied to the second round of the elections accordingly; the second sentence of Section 1, Article 66 shall not be applied.
Article 77
Caption deleted
Using the summary of election results in individual election districts provided by the Czech Statistical Office in compliance with Article 73, Section 6, the State Election Commission shall declare and publish the overall result of the elections to the Senate.
Article 77a
Conclusion of the Activities of the district election commissions
(1) All activities of the district election commissions related to the elections to the Senate shall be terminated fifteen days after the date of publication of the results of the elections to the Senate by the State Election Commission.
(2) All activities of any district election commission in whose election district the voting, the elections or the election of candidate has been legally challenged (Article 87) shall be terminated
a) on the day the verdict of a court of justice rejecting such legal challenge becomes legally effective,
b) fifteen days after the end of the new round of voting if a court of justice orders that the voting is to be repeated,
c) on the day the verdict of a court of justice ordering that the entire election process be repeated becomes legally effective.
Article 78
Certificates of Election
The State Election Commission shall provide each candidate elected to the Senate with a certificate verifying his/her election within 1 month following the date of publication of the election results.
Article 79
Repeated Elections and Repeated Voting
(1) The elections shall be repeated if
a) no candidate is elected in any given election district,
b) a court of justice declares the original elections void (Article 87).
(2) The voting shall be repeated if a court of justice declares the original voting void (Article 87).
(3) The fact that the elections are to be repeated in compliance with Section 1 herein shall be announced by the president of the republic. Their date shall be specified in a way ensuring that they take place no later than 90 days after the occurrence of the circumstances defined in Section 1. The provisions of Article 80, Section 2 shall be applied accordingly.
(4) The president of the republic shall announce that the voting is to be repeated in compliance with Section 2 herein within 30 days after being informed of the relevant judicial verdict by the Ministry of the Interior.
(5) If the elections are to be repeated, the relevant designated local authority in the seat of election district shall return all deposits paid by individual political parties, movements and coalitions or independent candidates no later than 1 month after their announcement.
Article 80
By-elections
(1) If the mandate of any senator is cancelled during his/her term of office for any reason, the president of the republic shall announce by-elections in his/her election district in a way ensuring that they take place no later than 90 days after the senator’s mandate is cancelled.
(2) The by-elections shall be governed by this act of law, with the time limits specified in Article 1, Section 3, Article 14c, Subsections c) and d), Article 14e, Sections 3 and 7, Article 14g, Section 1, Article 61, Section 2, Subsection e) and Article 62, Section 6 reduced by one third and the time limits specified in Article 60, Section 4 and Article 62, Sections 1, 3 and 6 reduced by 20 days.
(3) No by-elections shall take place in the last year of the term of office of the senator concerned.
(4) In by-elections each new senator is elected only for the rest of the term of office of the original senator whose mandate has been cancelled.
Section Four
Organisational and Technical Measures
Article 81
Deleted
Article 82
Entitlements of Election Commission Members
Each member of any district election commission or special district election commission is entitled to receive remuneration for his/her performance of his/her official duties. His/her entitlement to paid holiday leave related to his/her performance of election-related duties is addressed by labour legislation12).
Article 83
Entitlements of the Candidates
(1) Each candidate is entitled to ask his/her employer or another subject of a similar legal standing for unpaid holiday leave from the day following the date of registration of the candidate list or registration application until the day immediately preceding the date of the elections. His/her activities during the aforementioned period shall be regarded as acts in the public interest.
(2) No candidate’s labour or similar relations must be negatively affected by the fact that he/she runs in the elections. The holiday leave specified in the previous Section shall be regarded as hours worked.
Article 84
All expenditures of public administration bodies, local authorities, district election commissions, special district election commissions and embassies related to the elections to the Chamber of Deputies as well as all expenditures of public administration bodies, regions, local authorities and district election commissions related to the elections to the Senate shall be settled from the State Budget.
Article 85
Contribution to Election Expenses
Contributions to election expenses are only provided in connection with the elections to the Chamber of Deputies. After verifying the results of the elections, the Chamber of Deputies shall inform the Ministry of Finance of the amount of valid votes obtained by individual political parties, movements and coalitions. Each political party, movement or coalition acquiring at least 1.5% of the overall amount of valid votes shall receive CZK 100.00 from the State Budget for every obtained vote.
Section Five
Judicial Revision
Article 86
Any political party, movement or coalition or independent candidate whose candidate list or registration application has been rejected, whose candidate has been deleted from its candidate list or whose candidate list or registration application has been registered may appeal against such decision at a court of justice in compliance with special legal regulations13) within 2 days after receiving it. The same provision applies to any deleted independent candidate.
Article 87
(1) A motion to declare the election of a candidate void may be presented by any voter included in the list of voters of the election district in which such a candidate has been elected and by any political party, movement or coalition whose candidate list for the elections to the Chamber of Deputies has been duly registered in election region (hereinafter only the “plaintiff”) at a competent court of justice in compliance with special legal regulations14). Such a motion must be presented no later than 10 days after the election results have been announced by the State Election Commission.
(2) A motion to declare the voting, the elections or the election of a candidate void may be presented by any voter included in the permanent list of voters of the election district in which such a candidate has been elected and by any political party, movement or coalition or any independent candidate whose registration application for the elections to the Senate has been duly registered in election district (hereinafter only the “plaintiff”) at a competent court of justice in compliance with special legal regulations14). Such a motion must be presented no later than 10 days after the election results have been announced by the State Election Commission.
(3) A motion to declare the voting void may be presented if the plaintiff is convinced that this act of law has been breached in a way affecting the result of such voting.
(4) A motion to declare the elections void may be presented if the plaintiff is convinced that this act of law has been breached in a way affecting the result of such elections.
(5) A motion to declare the election of a candidate void may be presented if the plaintiff is convinced that this act of law has been breached in a way affecting the election of such a candidate.
Article 88
(1) The proceedings specified in Article 86 shall be carried out by a regional court of justice competent for the territory of the relevant regional authority or designated local authority in the seat of election district.
(2) The proceedings specified in Article 87 shall be carried out by the Supreme Administrative Court.
Article 89
(1) It is possible to seek judicial protection in all cases concerning errors and discrepancies in special lists of voters.
(2) Volume two, Chapter II, Part 4 of the Rules of Administrative Procedure shall be applied to all proceedings in compliance with Section 1 herein accordingly.
Part Two
Amendment of Act No. 99/1963 Coll, the Rules of Civil Procedure, as amended
Article 90
Act No. 99/1963 Coll. , the Rules of Civil Procedure, as amended by Act No. 36/1967 Coll., Act No. 158/1969 Coll., Act No. 49/1973 Coll., Act No. 20/1975 Coll., Act No. 133/1982 Coll., Act No. 180/1990 Coll., Act No. 328/1991 Coll., Act No. 519/1991 Coll., Act No. 263/1992 Coll., Act No. 24/1993 Coll. of the Czech National Council, Act No. 171/1993 Coll., Act No. 117/1994 Coll., Act No. 152/1994 Coll., Act No. 216/1994 Coll., Act No. 84/1995 Coll., Act No. 118/1995 Coll. and Act No. 160/1995 Coll. shall be changed as follows:
1. Articles 200f and 200g, including their captions, shall be deleted.
2. Article 200j, Sections 1 and 4 shall read as follows:
"(1) If the relevant public administration body fails to eliminate any error or discrepancy featured in any permanent list of voters or any special list of voters, any citizen concerned may ask a court of justice having competence over the election district involved to issue a decision on correction or amendment of such a list of voters.
(4) The proceedings concerning errors or discrepancies in permanent lists of voters or special lists of voters fall within the competence of district courts of justice.".
3. Articles 200m and 200n shall be added to Article 200l. They shall read as follows, including caption and footnote No. 34d:
"Election-related Proceedings
Article 200m
(1) If any election body competent to issue a final decision in compliance with special legal regulations34d) decides to
a) reject any candidate list for the elections to the Chamber of Deputies, the political party, movement or coalition presenting such candidate list shall be entitled to ask a court of justice to issue a resolution ordering its registration,
b) delete any candidate from any candidate list for the elections to the Chamber of Deputies, the political party, movement or coalition presenting such candidate list shall be entitled to ask a court of justice to issue a resolution ordering the candidate’s inclusion in the candidate list,
c) reject any application for registration of a candidate for the elections to the senate, the subject presenting such application shall be entitled to ask a court of justice to issue a resolution ordering the candidate’s registration.
(2) The parties concerned are the subject presenting the aforementioned request and the relevant election body.
(3) The competent court of justice shall issue a resolution without proceedings within three days.
(4) The court’s resolution cannot be challenged.
Article 200n
(1) Any appeal against the issue of an election certificate34d) to any Senator or Deputy shall be resolved by a competent court of justice without proceedings within ten days.
(2) The parties concerned are the subject presenting such appeal, the member of the Senate or the Chamber of Deputies whose election is being challenged and the relevant election body.
(3) The court’s resolution cannot be challenged.
34d) Act No. 247/1995 Coll. on elections to the Parliament of the Czech Republic and on change and amendment of other selected acts of law.”.
Part Three
Deleted
Article 91
Deleted
Part Four
Joint, Transitory and Concluding Provisions
Article 92
Caption deleted
(1) In its edict, the Ministry of the Interior shall specify
a) the procedure to be followed by all local authorities, all designated local authorities and – in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – all embassies preparing and administrating special lists of voters and producing excerpts from such lists,b) the way and procedure of qualification verification of the employees of the City of Prague providing election-related services for the Metropolitan Authority of the City of Prague and the employees of district authorities of the City of Prague providing the same,
c) in collaboration with the Czech Statistical Office
1. the procedures to be followed by public administration authorities in the process of forwarding of the source information from candidate lists and registration applications used by the Czech Statistical Office to generate registers and classifiers of individual candidates and political parties, movements and coalitions, to verify the information stated by individual political parties, movements and coalitions in their candidate lists and registration applications and to draw the number identifying individual ballot tickets,
2. the procedure to be followed by regional authorities, local authorities, designated local authorities in the seat of election district and embassies in the process of safekeeping and archiving of ballot tickets and other election documents,
3. the examples of candidate lists, registration applications, ballot tickets, special lists of voters, certificates of election, all forms used to establish and process the voting results of the elections to the Parliament of the Czech Republic and other documents as well as the organisational method of ballot ticket printing,
d) the amount of special remuneration of the members of the district election commissions and special district election commissions and the method of its settlement and payment – in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Finance.
(2) In its edict, the Ministry of Finance shall specify more detailed conditions upon which deposits and contributions towards election expenses are to be paid and refunded.
(3) In its edict, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall specify which embassies are to receive ballot tickets for the elections to the Chamber of Deputies and which embassies are to receive samples of ballot tickets for printing or duplication purposes.
Article 93
Unless contravening valid legislation, all measures adopted by competent public administration authorities in order to implement this act of law before its effective date shall be regarded as if adopted after its effective date.
Article 94
The first elections to the Senate shall take place in all 81 election districts specified in Appendix 3. The senators in election districts No. 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31, 34, 37, 40, 43, 46, 49, 52, 55, 58, 61, 64, 67, 70, 73, 76 and 79 shall be elected for two years, in election districts No. 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 23, 26, 29, 32, 35, 38, 41, 44, 47, 50, 53, 56, 59, 62, 65, 68, 71, 74, 77 and 80 for four years and in all remaining election districts for six years.
Article 95
If the elections to the Chamber of Deputies and the elections to the Senate take place on the same days, all district election commissions shall serve for both types of elections. In such cases, all activities of the district election commissions shall end only when all conditions defined in Articles 52a and 77a have been met.
Article 96
Deleted
Article 97
(1) On 1 January of the year in which the elections to the Senate of the Czech Republic take place, the Czech Statistical Office shall inform all designated local authorities in the seat of the election district concerned of the number of voters having their permanent address within their election district.
(2) The Rules of Administrative Procedure shall not apply to this act of law, except for procedures carried out in compliance with Article 16, Sections 5 and 7.
Article 97a
Time Limits
(1) The time limits specified in this act of law do not include the days determining their beginning. This provision shall not be applied to time limits specified in hours.
(2) Each time limit specified in hours shall expire at the end of the hour whose designation corresponds with the hour in which the circumstances indicating its beginning occurred.
(3) The time limits specified in days shall be regarded as met by the relevant authorities if the acts concerned are executed on their last day before 4 p.m.
(4) The aforementioned time limits may not be extended and their default may not be waived.
Article 97b
(1) When the mayor of a regional authority is absent, his/her tasks specified in this act of law are fulfilled by his/her deputy.
(2) If any mayor or deputy mayor fails to meet his/her obligations specified by this act of law or if no mayor or deputy mayor has been elected, the obligations specified by this act of law shall be met, even after the expiration of individual time limits, by the director of the relevant regional authority. When performing the aforementioned obligations, each director of a regional authority shall have the capacity of an election body.
Article 97c
(1) Each embassy shall check as of 31 January of each calendar year whether the legislation of the state in which it is located allows the citizens of the Czech Republic to vote in the elections to the Chamber of Deputies. Each embassy shall also check whether a special permission is necessary to carry out such voting. If so, it shall apply for such permission.
(2) If the citizens of the Czech Republic are not allowed to vote in the elections to the Chamber of Deputies at any embassy because such procedure is not permitted by the legislation of the state in which the embassy is located or because the embassy is not granted the necessary special permission, each voter registered in the special list administered by the embassy shall receive an electoral card and shall be informed where the nearest special election district in which he/she can vote is situated.
Article 97d
The competencies of regional authorities or designated local authorities specified by this act of law are regarded as delegated competencies.
Article 98
Annulling Provision
Act No. 54/1990 Coll. of the Czech National Council on elections to the Czech National Council, as amended by Statutory Provision of the Presidium of the Czech National Council No. 221/1990 Coll., Act No. 435/1991 Coll. of the Czech National Council, Act No. 94/1992 Coll. of the Czech National Council and Act No. 117/1994 Coll., is hereby declared null and void.
Article 99
Effective Date
This act of law shall become effective on 1 January 1996.
1) Article 5, Section 2, Subsection b) and Article 9, Section 4, Subsection a) of Act No. 20/1966 Coll. on public health, as amended by Act No. 548/1991 Coll. of the Czech National Council.
2) Articles 10 and 855 of the Civil Code.
3) Article 8 of Act No. 152/1994 Coll. on elections to municipal councils and on change and amendment of other selected acts of law.
4) Articles 10 and 11 of Act No. 152/1994 Coll.
5) Act No. 133/2000 Coll. on evidence of citizens and on Birth Identification Numbers and on change of selected acts of law (the Act on Evidence of Citizens).
5a) Article 4 of Act No. 293/1993 Coll. on custody serving. Article 5 of Act No. 169/1999 Coll. on serving of a term of imprisonment and on change of selected related acts of law.
5b) Article 64 of Act No. 128/2000 Coll. on municipalities (establishment of municipalities). Edict No. 349/2000 Coll. on specification of seats of administration districts of designated local authorities, as amended by Edict No. 437/2000 Coll.
5c) Act No. 130/2000 Coll. on elections to regional councils and on change of selected acts of law.
5d) Article 12, Section 1, Subsection l) of Act No. 2/1969 Coll. on establishment of ministries and other central public administration bodies of the Czech Republic, as amended by Act No. 130/2000 Coll.
5e) Article 6, Section 3, Subsection k) of Act No. 2/1969 Coll. as amended by Act No. 204/2000 Coll.
5f) Act No. 89/1995 Coll. on state statistical service, as amended.
5g) Article 117, Section 3 of Act No. 128/2000 Coll., as amended by Act No. 273/2001 Coll.
5h) Act No. 200/1990 Coll. on offences, as amended.
5i) Article 15, Section 2, Subsection a) of Act No. 468/1991 Coll. on radio and television broadcasting, as amended by Act No. 301/1995 Coll.
5j) Articles 84 and 103 of Act No. 131/2000 Coll. on the City of Prague, as amended by Act No. 145/2001 Coll.
Edict No. 345/2000 Coll. on qualification verification of the employees of local authorities, regional authorities, the City of Prague, district authorities of the City of Prague and district authorities, the persons heading special bodies established in compliance with special legal regulations and the chairpersons of commissions appointed to carry out designated competencies (the Edict on Special Professional Qualification), as amended by Edict No. 427/2000 Coll.
5k) Act No. 491/2001 Coll. on elections to municipal councils and on change of selected acts of law, as amended by Act No. 230/2002 Coll.
6) Act No. 3/1993 Coll. of the Czech National Council on state symbols of the Czech Republic.
7) Article 20 of Act No. 40/1993 Coll. on acquisition and loss of the citizenship of the Czech Republic.
7a) Article 5, Section 1, Subsections a) through d) of Act No. 329/1999 Coll. on travel documents and on change of Act No. 283/1991 Coll. on the Police of the Czech Republic, as amended (the Act on Travel Documents).
7b) Act No. 328/1999 Coll. on personal identity cards.
8) Article 16, Section 1 of the Constitution of the Czech Republic.
8a) Constitutional Act No. 347/1997 Coll. on creation of higher self-governing territorial units and on change of Constitutional Act No. 1/1993 Coll. of the Czech National Council, the Constitution of the Czech Republic, as amended by Constitutional Act No. 176/2001 Coll.
9) Act No. 424/1991 Coll. on association in political parties and political movements, as amended (complete version of Act No. 118/1994 Coll.).
10) Article 200m of the Rules of Civil Procedure, as amended.
11) Article 16, Section 2 of the Constitution of the Czech Republic.
12) Edict No. 18/1991 Coll. of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs on other acts in public interest.
Article 17 of Governmental Edict No. 108/1994 Coll. implementing the Labour Code and selected other acts of law.
13) Article 200m of the Rules of Civil Procedure.
14) Article 200n of the Rules of Civil Procedure.