I talk about the government system of Czechia from executive to legislative and how elections work in the country.

1. May 8,
2020
The Government System of the Czech Republic (Czechia)
theweeklyrambler.com/the-government-system-of-the-czech-republic-czechia/
The Czech Republic is a landlocked
country located in Central Europe and
is bordered with Germany, Poland,
Slovakia and Austria. The country’s
capital city is Prague and is located in
the country’s Central North-East.
The Czech State is traced back to the
9th Century as the Duchy of Bohemia
under the Great Moravian Empire. In
1002 the Duchy was recognized as an
Imperial State by the Holy Roman
Empire. Bohemia became the
Kingdom of Bohemia in 1198. After
the Battle of Mohacs in 1526, the
Crown of Bohemia was eventually
integrated into the Habsburg
Monarchy. Protestant Bohemian’s
revolted against the Catholic Habsburg’s leading to the Thirty Years’ War. The Habsburg’s
consolidated their rule, eradicated Protestantism and adopted a policy of gradual
Germanization.
After the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, the Crown lands of Bohemia became a
part of the Austrian Empire and the Bohemia language and literature experienced a
revival. The First Czechoslovak Republic, otherwise called Czechoslovakia, was formed in
1918 after the collapse of Austro-Hungary due to World War 1.
Parts of Czechoslovakia were occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II while the
Slovak region became a puppet state of Nazi Germany. Czechoslovakia would be
liberated from Nazi Germany by the Allies. The country’s Communist party won a
plurality in the 1946 elections and a coup in 1948 backed by the Soviet Union established
a one-party Communist state.
Over time there was mounting dissatisfaction with the Communist regime that led to the
Prague Spring in 1968 from people wanting mass reform and change, but ended in the
country being invaded by the Soviet’s and other Warsaw-pact countries to quash it. The
country was occupied until the Velvet Revolution in 1989, which ended Communist rule
peacefully and reinstated multi-party democracy.
Czechoslovakia later dissolved peacefully in 1993 due to Nationalist tensions, leading to
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2. the creation of the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The largest religion is Roman Catholic although the country also has a significant Atheist
population, which is in-fact the largest in the world. The country’s currency is currently
the Czech Koruna but it is legally bound to eventually adopt the Euro. The country’s
population is estimated to reach 10,702,498 by July 2020.
Government Type
Czech Republic Coat of Arms.
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3. The Czech Republic is a unitary parliamentary representative democratic republic with a
semi-presidential system where there is President who is Head of State and a Prime
Minister who is Head of Government, making up the executive government. There is a
Bicameral (Senate and Chamber of Deputies) parliament that makes up legislative
government. Multiple parties are allowed as long as they go by the principles of
democracy and do not use force as a means to get to power.
Executive Government
Prague Castle, official residence of the President. Photo by Godot13 from Wikimedia. CC BY-SA
4.0. Source.
So as said there is a President who is Head of State, as Head of State the President
represents the country abroad in diplomatic and foreign affairs and has a number of
executive powers at their disposal.
Presidential Absence
If the presidency becomes vacant before a new President is elected or if the President is
uncapable of performing his duties for serious reasons then the powers of the President
are temporarily split between the Prime Minister and the Chairperson of the Assembly
(or the Chairperson of the Senate if the Assembly is dissolved) until the President is
capable again or a new President is elected.
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4. President, Government, Appointments and Parliament
The President appoints and recalls the Prime Minister and other members of
Government and accepts their resignations. Convenes sessions of the Assembly of
Deputies and also dissolves the Assembly of Deputies when needed and calls elections
for the Assembly of Deputies or the Senate.
The President has the right to take part in the meetings of both chambers of parliament,
including their committees and commissions and has the opportunity to speak
whenever requested (this also applies to Government members). The President also has
the right to take part in meetings of the Government and to request reports from the
Government and/or its members and to discuss issues with them and the Government
within their competencies.
The President can return acts and legislative bills back to parliament for a 2nd
consultation (except for constitutional amendments) before giving them assent, if they
disagree with certain parts or all of it. If the Assembly of Deputies passes the bill
unchanged again with an absolute majority then the President must give assent to it.
The President appoints the President and Vice-President of the Supreme Auditing Office
via nomination of the Assembly of Deputies. Also appoints members of the Banking
Council of the Czech National Bank.
International Affairs
International treaties require the consent of parliament or if otherwise stated via a
national referendum. The President can negotiate and (with consent) ratify international
treaties or the President may delegate negotiation of international treaties to the
Government, or with the Government’s consent, to individual members. The President
receives heads of diplomatic missions, accredits and recalls heads of diplomatic
missions.
Armed Forces
The President is the Supreme Commander of the country’s armed forces. The President
commissions and promotes generals. May grant and award state orders unless this
power has been delegated by the President to another body to do so.
Other Powers
The constitution states that the President can also possess powers that are not explicitly
enumerated in constitutional acts if statute so provides, in this case, such decisions in
order to be valid will need the counter-signature of the Prime Minister or a member of
Government designated by the Prime Minister. The Government and Prime Minister are
held responsible for decisions of the President that require a counter-signature by the
Prime Minister or member of Government.
The Government and Prime Minister
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5. The Government consists of the Prime Minister, any Deputy Prime Ministers and also
Ministers. The Government is the highest body of Executive Power. The Government is
responsible to the Assembly of Deputies and must hold their confidence to remain in
power.
The Prime Minister is appointed by the President after parliamentary elections and is
based on who is believed to hold the confidence of the House of Deputies. The President
appoints the other members of Government on proposal of the Prime Minister.
Within 30 days of the appointment of Government, they shall go before the Assembly of
Deputies and ask for a vote of confidence, if the Government fails this vote of confidence
then a new Government is appointed, if it fails again then a new Prime Minister
appointed on the guidance of the Chairpersons of the Assembly and Senate.
The President recalls members of Government on proposal of the Prime Minister.
The Government makes decisions as a body (Cabinet) and adopts resolutions with an
absolute majority vote. The Prime Minister organizes activities of the Government,
presides over Government meetings and represents the Government
The Government can submit a vote of confidence on itself at any time. The Assembly of
Deputies can also bring forth a vote of confidence against the Government themselves,
this requires at least 50 Deputies to bring the proposal of a confidence vote forward. An
absolute majority vote is required against the Government for no confidence to pass.
Upon the loss of confidence, the Government and Prime Minister resign and a new
government will attempt to be formed by the President, which could lead to dissolution
of the Assembly of Deputies and fresh elections if there is trouble forming a new
Government.
Presidential Removal
The Senate can charge the President of the nation with High Treason and bring him
before the Constitutional Court for a verdict which may lead to him being removed from
office and/or prevented from running for further terms.
Legislative Government
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6. Assembly of Deputies chamber. Photo by Ervinpospisil from Wikimedia. CC BY-SA 3.0.Source.
The Legislative Government is made up of a Bicameral parliament which consists of the
Assembly of Deputies as the lower but Primary chamber and the Senate as the upper
chamber of parliament. It is the main job of the parliament to introduce, debate, amend,
pass or reject legislative bills and other agreements to then be passed to the President of
the nation of for assent. All bills originate or are introduced first to the Assembly of
Deputies either by the Government, members of the Assembly, the Senate, or
representative bodies of higher self-governing regions.
Both chambers of parliaments have committees and commissions for introduction of
legislation and for other operations. Senators or Deputies who are members of
Government cannot also be members of committees, commissions or be elected as a
chairperson of either chamber.
Absolute Majority
Some matters require an absolute majority vote from both the Assembly of Deputies
and the Senate, this includes declarations of war; assent to sending armed forces outside
the country or the stationing of armed forces of foreign states within its territory and
also adopting a resolution that concerns the country’s participation in defensive systems
of an international organization. In some situations, the Government can send forces
outside the territory or have foreign forces stationed in the territory for a period not
going past 60 days, if it is to do with fulfilling ratified treaties etc, the parliament can still
annul these decisions via an absolute majority vote.
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7. The Assembly of Deputies
The Assembly of Deputies has a set 200 members and as the primary chamber
determines the Government that is appointed based on its composition after
parliamentary elections and is in-charge of holding the government to account and can
have the Prime Minister and Government resign through a vote of no confidence in
them.
The Assembly elects a Chairperson and vice-chairpersons. The Chairperson regulates
debate and makes sure house rules are abided by. The Chairperson of the Assembly can
convene a joint-sitting of both chambers of parliament.
The Assembly upon one-fifth of members proposing, can form investigative committees
for investigation into matters of public interest.
The Senate
The Senate has a set 81 members.
The Senate elects a Chairperson and vice-chairpersons. The Chairperson regulates
debate and makes sure Senate rules are abided by.
While the Assembly of Deputies is resolved the Senate is empowered to adopt legislative
measures concerning matters that cannot be delayed and of which would otherwise
require the adoption of statute. But the Senate is not authorized to adopt legislative
measures concerning the Constitution, state budget, final state accounting, electoral law
or treaties. During this time only the caretaker Government can submit such legislative
proposals. These legislative proposals are signed by the Chairperson of the Senate, the
President of the Nation and by the caretaker Prime Minister. When the Assembly of
Deputies returns the legislative proposals passed by the Senate must be ratified and if
they are not, they will cease to be in force.
Under normal circumstances the Senate scrutinizes bills passed by the Assembly of
Deputies and if it rejects or amends them, they will be returned to the House of
Deputies. The House of Deputies can overrule the Senate via an absolute majority on a
bill that has been rejected or a bill that has had amendments added by the Senate
rejected.
The Senate cannot be overruled on certain things such as ratification of treaties,
declaration of war, constitutional amendments etc.
Judicial System
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8. Seat of Constitutional Court. Photo by Millenium187 from Wikimedia. CC BY-SA 3.0.Source.
The President appoints the 15 Justices of the Constitutional Court and also its
Chairperson and Vice-Chairpersons, with the consent of the Senate.
The President also appoints from among judges the Chairperson and Vice-Chairpersons
of the Supreme Court.
The President appoints other judges of the above courts.
The President can grant pardons or commute sentences, order that criminal proceedings
be instituted and can further order they be discontinued and the criminal record
expunged. The President also has the right to issue amnesties.
Electoral System
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9. Public Domain.
Presidential Elections happen every 5-years and uses a two-round system where a
candidate requires an absolute majority to be elected, if not a 2nd round is held between
the top two candidates won via simple majority. One person can serve a max of two
consecutive terms, but afterwards can wait a term and run again.
To become a candidate for president a person shall need either 50,000 signatures from
registered voters or to be nominated by 20 Deputies from the House of Deputies or 10
Senators from the Senate (chambers of parliament). Candidates must also be a Czech
citizen from birth and be at least 40-years or older.
Parliamentary elections happen every 4-years for the Assembly of Deputies while the
Senate is elected in one-thirds every 2-years with its members having 6-year terms.
The Assembly of Deputies members are elected from multi-seat constituencies using a
proportional representation system, guaranteeing a proportional share of seats to
parties that garner at least 5% of the vote.
Candidates for the Assembly of Deputies must be a Czech citizen who is at least 21-years
or older and be registered to vote.
The Senate members are elected from single-seat constituencies via a two-round system
where candidates require an absolute majority to win in the first round, otherwise a 2nd
round is held between the top two candidates won by simple majority.
Candidates for the Senate must be a Czech citizen who is at least 40-years or older and
be registered to vote.
To vote one must be a citizen of the Czech Republic and be at least 18-years-old. Voting is
not mandatory.
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10. Sources
My sources are from the Czech Republic’s 1993 constitution with amendments through
to 2002 (constituteproject.org), I found one part of it to have since been changed (the
way the President was elected) but I had foreknowledge of this and also made sure to
cross-research on other parts not yet included so everything should still be as accurate
as possible, but of course there is still the chance I may have missed something,
misinterpreted something and as always the constitution can be amended and so this
post may eventually become out of date so cross-research is suggested to those using
this in a serious capacity.
Got some information on population and electoral information from the Czechia entry of
the CIA World Factbook.
A constitutional amendment requires a three-fifth majority from both the Assembly of
Deputies and Senate to be adopted.
So, this was the final C country and so next up we will move on to the D countries
beginning with Denmark’s government system.
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