PRAGUE, Sept 2 (Reuters) - The Czech Republic's main
political parties were scrambling on Wednesday to find ways to
circumvent a court ruling that has frozen plans for an early
parliamentary election on Oct. 9-10 [].
Tuesday's decision to stop the election for the 200-seat
lower house while the court ruled on its constitutionality has
thrown the political establishment in disarray and soured the
market mood.
The EU member country of 10.5 million needs a strong
government and a fresh parliament to approve the 2010 budget and
adopt savings to bring the spiralling fiscal gap down.
The main parties had agreed to a one-off change to the
constitution to cut the election term short after a
no-confidence vote in parliament that brought down a
centre-right cabinet in March. A weak interim government has
been running the country ever since.
The move had wide support but an independent deputy
challenged it on the grounds he had the right to serve his full
four-year term.
The central European country now has a number of options,
ranging from getting around the ruling with a constitutional
change to waiting until the original election schedule of
mid-2010:
DISSOLUTION OF THE LOWER HOUSE
One idea floated by political parties -- and the one with
the most widespread support -- is to revive a long-dormant
proposal to permanently alter the constitution to allow the
lower chamber of parliament to dissolve itself.
Political leaders have said they would explore how to rush
through such a change.
Initial reaction showed there may be wide support for such a
measure, which needs approval by a three-fifths majority in both
houses of parliament.
Any legislative change could potentially be challenged in
court, however, and it is still unclear if the election could be
held on Oct. 9-10 or a few weeks or months later.
THE CABINET RESIGNS AGAIN
Another option is for the cabinet to resign and be replaced
by three successive administrations that would all lose a vote
of confidence, which was written into the constitution as a way
to resolve lingering political crises of this kind.
This would be a cumbersome but constitutional way to prompt
an early election.
THE COURT RULES MORE QUICKLY THAN EXPECTED
Another option is that the court rules on the merit of the
case quickly. The court has set a hearing for Sept. 10, although
it was not clear if a ruling could be delivered on that day.
If the court throws out the complaint within days, the
election may still go ahead as planned on Oct. 9-10, the
Interior Ministry said.
The court could also uphold the complaint. This would mean
the election should be held in mid-2010, at the end of the
standard term. But politicians could alter that with new
legislation.
A LONG DELAY
The court takes weeks or months to decide, postponing the
election.
The interim cabinet of Jan Fischer would stay in power until
the election, whenever it is held. Again, a constitutional
change could avert this possibility.
(Reporting by Jan Lopatka, Editing by Janet Lawrence)
