Altogether, the committee supported about six changes to the government amendment. Further amendments will be able to be submitted by deputies during the second reading in plenary. An extraordinary meeting will be called for it on Thursday, May 9.
The Constitutional-Legal Committee also proposed that a voter abroad could, on the basis of full powers, pick up voting kits for up to seven other people at the embassy. Even if the voter votes by mail, he should be able to come to the ballot box in person at the embassy. Personal choice would then take precedence over correspondence.
The government should determine by regulation the countries in which voting by mail will be possible and in which it will not be possible.
Criticism from ANO and SPD
According to STAN MP Lucie Potůčková, all adjustments are based on negotiations between the coalition and the opposition. They are supposed to contribute to alleviating concerns about possible misuse of the correspondence election. According to the chairman of the ODS deputies, Mark Benda, the committee tried to solve those parts of the coalition amendment that were found to be weak.
The correspondence election is criticized in the House of Representatives by the opposition ANO and SPD. They fear that postal elections will undermine the right to a secret ballot. The opposition obstructed the first reading of the bill, the meeting took more than 63 hours.
The proponents want Czech citizens to be able to use postal voting from abroad, who register in the voter list at the local representative office. The proposal concerns presidential, parliamentary and European elections.
According to the draft, Czechs abroad could vote by letter for the first time in the next regular elections to the House of Representatives in 2025.
After six days, the deputies approved the correspondence election in the first round
Homemade
Tags: parameters correspondence election change committee suggests
