Czech Republic votes in local and senate elections in first test for Babis government

Local and senate elections are being held in the Czech Republic today and tomorrow, representing the first test of public attitudes towards the government of billionaire populist Andrej Babis, who took office in December. This is reported by DPA, BTA reports.

Polling stations open at 2:00 p.m. local time, or 3:00 p.m. Bulgarian time. Voting will continue tomorrow.

Over 8 million eligible voters will elect municipal councils in more than 6,200 districts. In the Czech Republic's major cities, the housing shortage has been a major campaign issue.

Vote for one-third of Senate seats

The elections also include one-third of the seats in the Senate, the upper house of the Czech parliament. Such voting is held every two years.

The results will show whether the liberal and conservative opposition parties will be able to maintain their majorities in the chamber, or whether the ruling parties and their allies will gain ground.

President will not vote in local elections

Czech President Petr Pavel attracted attention ahead of the vote after announcing that he would not be able to vote for the municipal council in his home village of Černoučky, in the northwestern part of the country. The reason is a private trip outside the European Union.

“The president regrets the scheduling error“, his spokesman said.

There is no postal voting option in the Czech Republic's local elections.