PRAGUE, May 26 (Reuters) - The Czech Republic votes on May
28-29 for its lower house of parliament. Here are some key facts
on voting and the appointment of a new cabinet:
VOTERS:
Some 8.3 million Czechs are over the age of 18 and eligible
to vote for representatives in the 200-seat lower house, the
Chamber of Deputies, who are elected to a four-year term.
PARTIES:
Twenty-seven parties and more than 5,000 candidates aged 21
to 89 are on the ballot.
POLLING TIMES:
The seventh general election since the collapse of communism
in 1989 and the second since EU accession in May 2004 will run
from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. (1200-2000 GMT) on Friday and from 8 a.m.
to 2 p.m. (0600-1200 GMT) on Saturday.
VOTING SYSTEM:
-- The country has 14 electoral regions.
-- Proportional representation is used and voters select
candidates from regional lists of political parties.
-- A party must obtain at least 5 percent of all votes
nationwide to win seats in the lower house.
-- Deputies are assigned seats in the lower house according
to the number of votes each party wins in the given region, a
system disadvantageous to smaller parties in smaller regions.
-- Voting is not compulsory. Turnout in 2002 was 64.5
percent. Polls predict a similar turnout this time.
RESULTS:
-- The count begins when polling stations close on Saturday.
Preliminary results and seat allocation will come in over
Saturday afternoon and evening, and complete results are
expected around 2000-2200 GMT on Saturday evening.
-- Definitive official results and the allocation of seats
are expected several days later. The main public television
broadcaster, Czech Television, is expected to issue an exit poll
at about 2 p.m. (1200 GMT) on Saturday, immediately after the
polls close.
FORMING A GOVERNMENT:
-- The president, by tradition rather than law, asks the
leader of the party with the most votes to lead talks on forming
a government. These discussions often take time because no Czech
party has ever won an outright majority in parliament.
-- If the leader reaches agreement with other parties on a
government that can win a confidence vote in the new parliament,
the president then appoints a prime minister and cabinet.
-- In practice, the prime minister has always been the party
leader who negotiated the new government. But it can also be a
person recommended by the party leader.
-- Once appointed, the cabinet has 30 days to seek a
confidence vote in the lower house.
-- If the winning party chief fails to negotiate a deal to
create a government, the president gives the mandate to another
political leader.
-- If the cabinet loses the confidence vote, it resigns, and
the president chooses another candidate to begin new talks on
forming a government.
Three attempts at forming a government must take place
before the president can dissolve the lower house and a new
election can be held. There is no deadline for the president to
appoint another candidate to start talks, meaning the process
could hypothetically take weeks or months.
-- The last election produced a hung parliament with the
right- and left-wing forces each winning 100 seats. The first
right-wing cabinet lost the confidence vote, and it took seven
months for a functioning government to win approval. The cabinet
collapsed two years later.
