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: JURIST - The Paper Chase

Czech lawmakers agree to amend constitution as court cancels elections

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

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[JURIST] Czech lawmakers have agreed to amend the country's constitution to allow parliamentary elections to take place in November, as the Constitutional Court ruled Thursday that the scheduled October elections violate the constitution. Last week, the court delayed the elections, planned for October 9 and 10, after independent lawmaker Milos Melcak filed a complaint alleging that the scheduled elections violated his rights by not allowing him to serve his full parliamentary term. The court ruled Thursday that holding the elections in October would amount to a suspension of the constitution. Czech President Vaclav Klaus sharply criticized the court's decision, saying that it:consciously and deliberately deepens the political crisis in our country. If we want today and in the future to avoid similar situations, which threaten chaos and threaten the entire society, the moment is approaching when it will be necessary to adopt a new definition of the constitutional powers of the Constitutional Court.Czech lawmakers from the Social Democrat and Civic Democrat parties agreed Wednesday to sidestep the anticipated court ruling by amending the constitution to allow a November election. The proposal must now be approved by a three-fifths majority of parliament.Former prime minister Mirek Topolanek formally resigned in March, dissolving parliament, which led to the scheduling of the now-delayed October elections. The Czech Republic has been experiencing economic difficulty over the past year, and the delayed election will further delay budget negotiations. Since the breakup of Czechoslovakia in 1993, the Czech Republic has been led by a series of governments lacking a strong majority.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on September 10, 2009 (boomark / email).