Czech Elections Fail to Find Havel's Successor

The search for a new leader of the Czech Republic went into another round on Friday night as the country's government yet again found itself at loggerheads after a fifth vote failed to appoint a new head of state.

Three rounds of voting last week also floundered in an attempt to name a successor to President Václav Havel, prompting two further rounds on Friday. The Czech parliament is running out of time to find a new leader as the out-going president's mandate ends in eight days.

The leadership of the country soon to be vacated by former dissident Havel, who opened up contest when he announced his intention not stand for a third term last week, is being fought over by former conservative prime minister, Václav Klaus, and a little-known former ambassador, Jaroslava Moserova. The only issue to be resolved by the voting rounds so far is the elimination of the third presidential candidate, former Social Democrat Prime Minister Miloš Zeman, who was eliminated in the first round on Friday.

Candidates split upper and lower houses

Moserova seemed to be ahead after the first two rounds gave her the edge in the upper house while former Prime Minister Klaus dominated the parliament's lower house. In the Czech leadership voting system, the first stages require a majority from each of the two houses, while the third stage needs a simple majority from the combined parliament. Ministers can derail the process at this crucial point by choosing to spoil their ballots, depriving one of the two remaining challengers of the necessary majority to win election.

That is exactly why the election has failed so far and the same could happen again in the next round of voting with ministers divided by loyalties and employing tactics to avert a majority decision for the opposition. If this happens again and the vote remains unresolved, the country could be left without a head of state when Havel steps down on February 2nd.

Vote could go to the people

A potential solution could be the election of the president by a public direct vote. But changing the Czech voting system to allow the people to choose the head of state would take considerable time and leave the Czech Republic without a president at a crucial time in its preparations for European Union membership.

Experts believe that a public vote would see the presidency being handed to Václav Klaus, by far the most popular choice of the Czech people and the leader in the opinion polls. Klaus would dearly love to replace his bitter rival Havel.