At stake in this election:

• The office of President of the Czech Republic.

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Vaclav HAVEL
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Vladimir SPIDLA
• Assembly: Czech Republic has a bicameral Parliament (Parlament) consisting of the Senate (Senat) with 81 seats and the Chamber of Deputies (Poslanecka Snemovna) with 200 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by parliament to serve a 5-year term.*
• In the Senate (Senat) 81 members are elected by popular vote to serve 6-year terms**. In the Chamber of Deputies (Poslanecka Snemovna) 200 members are elected by popular vote to serve 4-year terms.

* A candidate must receive the vote of a majority of present members in each house of parliament to be elected. If no candidate achieves this threshold, a runoff is held between the two candidates with the most votes. If neither candidate acheives the threshold, a third round is held in which a candidate only needs a majority of total present parliamentarians in both houses combined to win. In no candidate has won after all three rounds, the election is postponed and re-held at a later date.

** One third of the Senate is renewable every two years.

Main candidates in the electoral race:

• Vaclav KLAUS
  • Party: Civic Democratic Party / Občanská demokratická strana (ODS)
  • Number of votes received in first round of voting: 147
  • Number of votes received in second round of voting: 139
  • Number of votes received in third round of voting: 142
• Jan SOKOL
  • Party: Independent
  • Number of votes received in first round of voting: 128
  • Number of votes received in second round of voting: 129
  • Number of votes received in third round of voting: 124

Note: Vaclav KLAUS was elected President after receiving 142 out of a total of 266 votes (53.4%) in the third round of voting.

Last Presidential Election:

• Vaclav HAVEL served two 5-year terms as President, from 1993-2003. The first and second attempts at the presidential election was held on January 15 and January 24 were unsuccessful after no candidate reached the required threshold through three rounds of voting.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 10,193,998 (2003)
• Registered Voters: 8,262,484 (June 2002 )

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 5,235,621 (2003)

·         Is Czech Republic a signatory to CEDAW: No

·         Has Czech Republic ratified CEDAW: Yes, succession (22 February 1993)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 34 (Chamber of Deputies); 10 (Senate) (following the 2002 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 28 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Very Low (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Czech Republic a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Czech Republic ratified CRPD: Yes (28 September 2009)

·         Population with a disability: 1,529,099 (est.)