Czech voters clearly rejected extreme Republican
21-06-1998
Czech voters clearly rejected extreme Republican party that had
been expected to benefit from protest votes in the general
election.
The ultra-right Republicans, who have been in every parliament
since the fall of communism, were booted out, failing to win
enough votes to secure seats.Parties must win five percent of the vote to take seats in the
200-seat lower house of parliament.
The election was called two years ahead of schedule in
response to the collapse of the centre-right coalition
government last November over a funding scandal in Mr Klaus's
ODS party.
Sladek's Republican Party emerged shortly after the 1989
revolution, and has aways been on opposition benches. Although
they gathered enough support to sit in parliament they are
generally shunned for fuelling racism and xenophobia.
President Havel has consistently refused to meet with its
representatives for this very reason. Recently the party has
been torn by inner conflict, with members accusing Sladek of
dictatorial practices.
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