At stake in this election:

• 200 seats in the Chamber of Deputies (Poslanecka Snemovna)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Vaclav KLAUS
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Jiri PAROUBEK
• Assembly: Czech Republic has a bicameral Parliament (Parlament) consisting of the Senate (Senat) with 81 seats and the Chamber of Deputies (Poslanecka Snemovna) with 200 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by parliament to serve a 5-year term.
• In the Senate (Senat) 81 members are elected in single-member constituencies to serve 6-year terms*. In the Chamber of Deputies (Poslanecka Snemovna) 200 members are elected by popular vote to serve 4-year terms.**

* One third of the Senate is renewed every two years.

** A threshold of 5% is required in order for a party to enter the Chamber of Deputies.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: Civic Democratic Party / (ODS)
  • Leader: Mirek TOPOLANEK
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in this Chamber of Deputies election: 81
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 58
• Party: Czech Social Democratic Party / (CSSD)
  • Leader: Bohuslav SOBOTKA
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in this Chamber of Deputies election: 74
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 70
• Party: Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia / (KSCM)
  • Leader: Vojtech FILIP
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in this Chamber of Deputies election: 26
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 41
• Party: Christian Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party / (KDU-CSL)
  • Leader: Miroslav KALOUSEK
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in this Chamber of Deputies election: 13
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 21
• Party: Green Party / (SZ)
  • Leader: Martin BURSIK
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in this Chamber of Deputies election: 6
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 0
• Party: Other Parties
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in this Chamber of Deputies election: 0
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 0

Last Parliamentary election:

• The last parliamentary election was held on June 14-15, 2002.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 10,238,905 (2006)
• Registered Voters: 8,333,305 (June 2006 )

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 5,246,835 (2006)

·         Is Czech Republic a signatory to CEDAW: No

·         Has Czech Republic ratified CEDAW: Yes, succession (22 February 1993)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 31 (Chamber of Deputies); 6 (Senate) (following the 2006 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 28 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Very Low (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Czech Republic a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Czech Republic ratified CRPD: Yes (28 September 2009)

·         Population with a disability: 1,535,835 (est.)