Lawsuits have been filed against three candidate lists submitted for the upcoming Czech legislative elections, alleging breaches of the election law. Volt Czechia yesterday filed proposals to abolish the candidate lists of Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) and Stacilo!, and Prisaha is seeking the same for the Pirates, arguing that the lists are circumventing election law by running as unofficial coalitions.
The proposals have been submitted to the regional courts of each Czech region.
Coalitions of three or more parties must win at least 11% of the vote to enter the lower house of parliament, while single parties have to win 5%. By circumventing the threshold to enter the parliament, unofficial coalitions therefore threaten the fairness of elections and confidence in the democratic system, Volt Czechia argues.
Representatives of the Tricolour, Svobodni and PRO parties are running on the SPD candidate lists this year, while the Communists (KSCM) and Social Democrats (SOCDEM) are trying to return to the Chamber of Deputies as part of the anti-system Stacilo! (‘Enough!’) alliance.
The only official coalition running in the general election this year is Spolu, comprising the government parties Civic Democrats (ODS), Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) and TOP 09.
Volt Czechia co-leader Adam Hanka said his party was not filing motions against the Pirate Party because the Green representatives do not have the same weight on their candidate lists as in the cases of SPD and Stacilo!
Prisaha chairman Robert Slachta said on Sunday he did not see a big difference between the Pirates and SPD in this respect. Prisaha will hold a press conference on this issue on Wednesday.
Experts who spoke to CTK believe that the unrecognised coalitions do not violate Czech legislation.
Communist leader Katerina Konecna said that Stacilo! was proceeding in accordance with the law, and that she sees Volt’s actions as part of its own campaign. “It is fighting us on all fronts,” Konecna said.
Similarly, Pirate leader Zdenek Hrib denied a violation of rules and described Prisaha’s move as an effort to make itself more visible ahead of the elections.
This year, 4,473 candidates are contesting the seats in the lower house of Czech parliament, about 800 fewer than in the previous general election in 2021, although the number of running entities has risen by four to 26. The number of candidates has fallen below 5,000 for the first time.
