Czech Political System
The President
Formal Head of State and Commander in Chief of the armed forces. Elected by Parliament for a term of 5 years at a joint meeting of the lower and upper houses of parliament.
Supreme legislative body - Parliament
- House of Deputies (lower house)
- 200 Deputies elected every 4 years on party tickets using the proportional representation system.
- Minimum age - 21
- Senate (upper house)
- 81 Senators elected every 6 years by electoral district using a majority wins system.
- Minimum age - 40
Supreme executive body - The Government
Led by the Prime Minister and appointed by the President. The President also appoints other government ministers based on the Prime Minister’s recommendations. To be instated the Government must win a vote of confidence in the House of Deputies.
Major Political Parties
The major political parties in today’s Czech political scene are as follows. They are referred to using their bracketed abbreviation in all articles on this site:
Czech Social Democratic Party
Česká strana sociálně demokratická (ČSSD)
ČSSD is the successor to a party established in 1878 and disbanded by the Communists in 1948. Its policies favour the social agenda.
Chairman: Jiří Paroubek
Civic Democratic Party
Občanská demokratická strana (ODS)
Was founded as a conservative party after the split of the Civic Forum on February 26, 1991.
Chairman: Mirek Topolánek
Christian Democratic Union- Czechoslovak People’s Party
Křesťansko-demokratická unie - Československá strana lidová (KDU-ČSL) (People’s party)
The successor to the Catholic-oriented People’s Party, which was active between the World Wars. In the Communist era, it existed as a powerless decoration of the totalitarian regime. After 1989, the party underwent a complicated internal transformation, and it currently declares itself to be a conservative party with a Christian social orientation.
Chairman: Jiří Čunek
Green Party
Strana zelených
The Greens have been active in Czech politics since the 1990’s. Its representatives became members of the House of Deputies after the elections in June 2006.
Chairman: Martin Bursík
Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia
Komunistická strana Čech a Moravy (KSČM)
The party under it’s current name KSČM has not succeeded in transforming itself into a ‘modern left-wing party’ as has happened in neighboring countries. The KSČM is the last of the former totalitarian parties in Central Europe to retain the word ‘Communist’ in its official name. Although the party’s popularity remains stable, it is largely isolated on the Czech political scene.
Chairman: Vojtěch Filip
