The search for a coalition compromise in the issue of the election law is expected to be difficult. The Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) have sent the word that they want to come up with their own ideas. The Greens have welcomed some alternatives, drafted by Justice Minister Jiri Pospisil (the Civic Democratic Party, ODS), but rejected those that are to favour the election winner. The drafters were inspired by the election systems valid in other European countries. The proposal includes six Czech regional, Senate elections to be on October 17-18 ...
Czech ForMin discloses audit of Cunek's finances on Internet ... alternatives from Scotland, Greece, Poland, Italy, the Netherlands and the "hard bonus." The ODS, the KDU-CSL and the Greens pledged in their 2006 coalition agreement to modify the election system so that it provides for a higher measure of the proportional element and gives the election bonus to the election winner. The current system of distribution of mandates was criticised after the 2006 general elections by the Greens as they needed twice as many votes to receive a seat in the Chamber of Deputies than the ODS and senior opposition Social Democrats (CSSD). The ODS argues that the election system does not give a sufficiently strong position to the election winner. The Justice Ministry said all the proposed solutions fulfilled the coalition conditions. Frantisek Korbel, Deputy Justice Minister and the Greens' legal expert, said the conditions for the coalition talks would be more difficult. "All alternatives consistent with the coalition agreement are acceptable for the Greens.
This means all but the Polish and Italian systems that do not constitute a proportional majority, but a majority system," Korbel told CTK. The Polish model helps strong parties as, along with the five-percent threshold necessary to enter parliament, it introduces another limit of 25 percent. The parties that reach it are entitled to a number of mandates that was determined beforehand. The Italian model is the most generous to the election winner. Irrespective of the number of received votes, it gives a majority of at least 102 mandates to him. The remaining 98 go to the other parties. All proposed alternatives reckon with an election bonus. The Christian Democrats are not satisfied with any of the proposed models. Their leader Jiri Cunek told the daily Pravo last week that his party would enter the talks with its own ideas. KDU-CSL deputy chairman Roman Linek has told CTK that the party preferred the German model in which the voter has two votes. He supports a party with one and a personality with the other. The party does not have a uniform stand on the issue. Head of the government legislative council Cyril Svoboda (KDU-CSL) is ready to accept the Dutch model in which mandates are redistributed within a single national constituency. The system includes a significant element of proportional representation. The winner receives either the hard bonus in the form of, say, ten mandates, or the degressive bonus, which is lowered according to the obtained percentage of votes. The cabinet is expected to discuss the issue at its meeting on August 20. At present, five percent of votes are needed for the parties to enter the Chamber of Deputies in the Czech Republic. There is no bonus for the winner. The post-Communist elections have repeatedly produced no viable majority in the 200-member lower house.
(Ceske Noviny)
more info >>
<< Back