The Constitution of the Czech Republic and the System of Parliamentary Elections

The essay ananalyzes the provision of Article 18 of the Constitution of the Czech Republic, establishing the principle of proportional representation for the elections to the House of Representatives and the majority principle for the elections to the Senate. The author emphasizes that the election system does not include only the electoral formula, but also a number of not less important aspcects, such as the total number of elected offices, district magnitude from the viewpoint of filled mandates, existence of the minimum percentage clause, scope of the right to vote, rules of election campaign and financing, number of scrutinies, possibility to choose from the candidates etc. Furthermore the author gives an analysis of Article 18, taking into account other constitutional starting points for choosing the specific election system. He ephasizes the principally different character of the Senate, which is not a body of the political control of the government. As long as the elections to the House of Representatives are concerned, the author recommends to preserve the old and well-tested election system, based on the Hagenbach-Bischoff formula. As long as the elections to the Senate are concerned, the author recommends, contrary to the official proposal, which anticipates two-round elections in one-mandate districts, the system of alternative vote, as more economic and more suitable, considering the Czech political structure, and gives reasons for its advantages.