At stake in this election:

• 200 seats in the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic (Poslanecká Sněmovna).

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Miloš ZEMAN
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Jiří RUSNOK (in resignation since August 13, 2013. His government remains in office until a new government will be appointed.
• Assembly: Czech Republic has a bicameral Parliament (Parlament) consisting of the Senate (Senát) with 81 seats and the Chamber of Deputies (Poslanecká Sněmovna) with 200 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• In the Chamber of Deputies (Poslanecká Sněmovna) 200 members are elected through a flexible-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms. Electors may cast four preference votes for candidates on their chosen party list. There are 14 multi-member constituencies. Votes are tabulated using the D’Hondt method. A threshold of 5% is required in order for a party to enter the Chamber of Deputies. The threshold is 10% in case of a coalition of two parties, 15% for a coalition of three parties, 20% for a coalition of four or more parties.

Election Notes:

• The Chamber of Deputies election was originally scheduled to take place in 2014; however, early elections were called in August 2013, following the decision of the Chamber of Deputies to dissolve itself. The decision to dissolve the Chamber of Deputies came after the government elected in 2010, led by Prime Minister Petr NEČAS resigned in June 2013 following a scandal with reports of abuses of power and the misuse of the Intelligence Service the Chief of his cabinet. A caretaker government led by Jiří RUSNOK subsequently lost a confidence vote on August 7, 2013, which was followed by the dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies on August 28, 2013, by President ZEMAN.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Czech Social Democratic Party / Česká strana sociálně demokratická (ČSSD)
  • Leader: Bohuslav SOBOTKA
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 56
• Civic Democratic Party / Občanská demokratická strana (ODS)
  • Leader: Miroslava NĚMCOVÁ
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 53
• TOP 09 / TOP 09 (TOP 09)
  • Leader: Karel SCHWARZENBERG
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 41 (Coalition of TOP 09, “STAN”, “Starostové pro Liberecký kraj” and independents without political affiliation)
• Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia / Komunistická strana Čech a Moravy (KSČM)
  • Leader: Vojtěch FILIP
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 26
• National Socialists - 21st Century Left / LEV 21 - Národní socialisté (LEV 21)
  • Leader: Tereza BERNARDOVÁ
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: N/A[i]
• Christian and Democratic Union - Czechoslovak People’s Party / Křesťanská a demokratická unie – Československá strana lidová (KDU-ČSL)
  • Leader: Pavel BĚLOBRÁDEK
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 0
• Green Party / Strana zelených (SZ)
  • Leader: Ondřej LIŠKA
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 0
• HLAVU VZHŮRU – volební blok (HLAVU VZHŮRU)[ii]
  • Leader: Jana BOBOŠÍKOVÁ
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: N/A
• Freeholders Party of the Czech Republic / Strana soukromníků České republiky (SsČR)[iii]
  • Leader: Rostislav SENJUK
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: N/A
• Party of Civic Rights – Zemanovci / Strana Práv Občanů – Zemanovci (SPOZ)
  • Leader: Zdenĕk ŠTENGL
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: N/A
• ANO 2011 (ANO)
  • Leader: Andrej BABIŠ
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: N/A
• Czech Pirate Party / Česká pirátská strana (Piráti)
  • Leader: Ivan BARTOŠ
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: N/A
• Dawn of Direct Democracy / Úsvit přímé demokracie (UPD) 
  • Leader: Tomio OKAMURA
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: N/A

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 10,514,272 (2013)
• Registered Voters: 8,435,522 (January 2013)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 5,348,968 (2013)

·         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: 44 (Chamber of Deputies); 4 (Senate) (following the 2010 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: 1,577,140 (est.)