Voting in the Czech Republic

This means that more than 40,000 expats in the Czech Republic are eligible to vote in the upcoming municipal elections on 20-21 October.  If you are eligible, this is your chance to make your voice heard on important local issues and express your satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) with the performance of your local town hall.  Town councils determine the number of preschools, maintain parks and playgrounds, issue construction permits, and rent and sell property among other activities.   The Green Party has compiled the non-partisan information below on how to register and vote in the upcoming elections. 

Petr Stepanek, Deputy Chairman of the Green Party and a Prague 4 Councilmember, says, “Citizens of other countries have gotten used to living here with limited rights. Fortunately, this situation is changing.  In addition the rights guaranteed under the Czech constitution, EU citizens now have the right to vote. The Greens strongly believe in shared responsibility in communities, and we have long supported extending the right to vote to non-citizens. We urge EU citizens to join Czechs on Election Day to get the best local councils possible.”

In order to vote, eligible EU citizens must request to be added to the supplementary voter registry. Additions to the voter registration lists are handled by the town hall authorities in the municipality in which the EU citizen voter has permanent residency (in Prague, this means the relevant borough: e.g., the Prague 2 Town Hall for Vinohrady, the Prague 6 Town Hall for Dejvice, etc.). 

The request may be submitted in writing (in which case it must be received by the town hall authorities by October 18, 2006 at 16:00) or in person. It must be clear from the request that you are claiming your right to be added to the voter rolls, and you should provide the following information:

In the event that you are making the request in person, you simply present your identity documents; i.e., your residency permit (the „green passport“).

Voters are informed about voting locations and times in their municipalities by the mayor at least 15 days before the date of the elections (October 5th). If there is more than one district in the municipality, as is the case with most of Prague, the mayor provides information on which parts of the municipality fall into which district. The addresses of the polling places for each district are also provided in the announcement.  If you register later (between October 5th and October 18th), you can find out where your polling place is located by calling or visiting the town hall in person.  Polling place and district information may also be published in the September issue of the town hall newspaper.

When you arrive at your designated polling place, show your Czech residence permit to the officials.  After your name is recorded on the rolls, you will receive an empty envelope.

The ballot for local (town council) elections may be single-sided or double-sided. At the top of the ballot, you will see the name of the municipality and the number of seats on the municipal council that are up for election.   The party tickets, or lists of candidates for a given party, framed by boxes. Candidates from each political party are listed in the order determined by their party in individual columns in each box.  Ballots are distributed by the mayor of the municipality to voters at least 3 days before the election (October 17, 2006).

When you receive the envelope and the ballot, you will enter an area that is set aside for marking your ballot. If you do not take your ballot into this special area, your vote will not be counted. In the ballot marking area, you can mark your ballot in one of the following ways:

– To vote for a political party: Place an „x“ by the box at the head of the column for the one political party you wish to vote for.  If you vote for more than one party in this way, your ballot will not be counted.

– To vote for a candidate:  Place an „x“ in the box next to the name of the candidate or candidates for whom you want to vote.  You may vote for candidates from any party in this way as long as the total number of candidates you vote for does not exceed the total number of seats up for election. The number of seats is shown on the top of the ballot.   If you vote for more candidates than there are seats, your ballot will not be counted.