2006 Czech legislative election

2006 Czech legislative election
All 200 seats in the Chamber of Deputies; 101 seats needed for a majority
	350px Winning parties by district
Prime Minister before election; Jiří Paroubek; ČSSD	Prime Minister after election; Mirek Topolánek; ODS

Legislative elections were held in the Czech Republic on 2 and 3 June 2006 to elect the members of the Chamber of Deputies.^[1]

A major scandal broke out a few days before the elections when a classified report by Jan Kubice, the head of the anti-organised crime unit, was leaked to the media, accusing the ruling Social Democratic Party (ČSSD) of corruption and interference in police investigations. The Civic Democratic Party (ODS) and the Social Democratic Party, the two largest parties, obtained their highest percentage of votes ever. Turnout increased from the previous elections election in 2002.

The elections produced an evenly balanced result. One potential coalition – the Civic Democratic Party, Christian Democrats (KDU-ČSL) and Greens – won exactly half of the 200 seats, while the Social Democratic Party and the Communists (KSČM) held the other half, meaning that either coalition would struggle to pass legislation.

Following the elections, 230 days passed without a new government being formed. Eventually, a coalition government formed of the Civic Democratic Party, KDU-ČSL and the Greens passed a confidence vote on 19 January 2007, when two Social Democrat deputies abstained.

Campaign

Several weeks before the elections, police officer Jan Kubice, head of the squad for investigating organised crime, suggested that senior figures from the police and the government were trying to cover up their cooperation with organised crime. He was summoned before a parliament commission a few days before the election where he presented a document; the contents of the document were leaked immediately.

The document suggested that former Prime Minister Stanislav Gross had connections with the criminal underground and hinted that Prime Minister Jiří Paroubek was indirectly involved in a murder, dealt with the mafia and was a pedophile. It also contained information about minor officials, some of whom had already been imprisoned for bribery.^[2]^[3]

Paroubek and the others denied these claims and accused the opposition Civic Democratic Party of trying to manufacture a scandal to help them in the elections. After the elections, Paroubek said that the allegations cost his party, the Social Democratic Party, victory and that democracy was in as much danger as in 1948, when the Communists seized power. He raised the possibility of challenging the election result, though this did not happen.^[4]

Campaign Finances

Party	ČSSD	ODS	KDU-ČSL	KSČM	SZ	US-DEU
Money Spent	120,000,000 Kč^[5]	80,000,000 KČ^[5]	43,000,000 Kč^[5]	22,000,000 Kč^[5]	13,000,000 Kč^[6]	11,000,000 Kč^[6]

Electoral system

The Chamber of Deputies consists of 200 members elected for a four-year term. Seats were allocated by proportional representation between those lists that gained over 5% of the national total of valid votes cast.

Party lists were presented in 14 regions, with votes cast for a list, although voters were allowed up to two preference votes for candidates on that list.

The Czech Republic has a parliamentary system of government, with ministers being responsible to the Chamber of Deputies. The Chamber is the most powerful organ of the state with power to override vetoes by the President and the Senate.

Opinion polls

Date	Polling Firm	ODS	ČSSD	KSČM	KDU-ČSL	SZ	US-DEU	NEZDEM	SNK-ED	NEZ	Others
Date	Polling Firm										Others
2-3 Jun 2006	Election	35.3	32.3	12.8	7.2	6.3	0.3	0.7	2.1	0.6	2.4
25–26 May 2006	SC&C	30.8	24.2	12.1	5.8	8.6	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
22 May 2006	Median	19.0	Template:Party shading/Czech Social Democratic Party\| 20.0	12.2	6.0	8.9	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
18–24 May 2006	Factum Invenio	27.8	Template:Party shading/Czech Social Democratic Party\| 28.5	17.3	9.0	8.6	1.1	N/A	1.5	N/A	3.0
19 May 2006	CVVM	32.0	28.0	15.5	5.5	10.5	0.5	1.0	2.5	2.0	2.5
12 May 2016	Factum Invenio	29.0	22.8	16.7	11.3	9.8	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
9. May 2006	STEM	26.7	25.2	13.0	5.4	7.1	0.3	0.2	0.9	0.4	N/A
19 April 2006	STEM	26.8	21.3	13.3	4.9	10.6	0.5	N/A	1.1	0.5	N/A
18 April 2006	Factum Invenio	29.5	23.6	18.1	12.3	10.0	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
13 April 2006	SC&C	24.0	15.0	11.0	4.0	10.0	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	35.0
3 April 2006	Factum Invenio	29.3	25.3	17.6	9.9	10.5	2.2	0.6	0.8	1.7	2.1
24 March 2006	CVVM	25.5	21.0	12.5	6.5	10.0	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	24.5
17 March 2006	STEM	26.7	21.8	12.4	6.1	9.4	0.3	0.1	1.0	0.8	21.6
16 February 2006	STEM	28.6	24.5	15.3	6.4	5.6	0.3	0.2	0.5	1.0	15.6
2 February 2006	CVVM	36.0	35.0	14.5	8.0	3.0	1.0	N/A	N/A	1.0	1.5
18 January 2006	STEM	28.6	27.2	13.2	6.7	3.4	0.5	0.3	1.0	0.8	18.3

Results

The election produced a deadlock, leaving all the coalitions which were considered likely before the election (ODS-KDU-ČSL-Greens; ČSSD-KSČM; ČSSD-KDU-ČSL-Greens) with less than the 101 votes required to pass legislation or to pass a confidence vote for the new cabinet in the Chamber of Deputies (100, 100 and 93 votes, respectively). Remaining possibilities included a grand coalition of the Civic Democratic Party and the Social Democratic Party, which would command a large majority, totalling 155 seats against 45; a minority cabinet of either of the 100-vote coalitions, which would have negotiate with the opposition to get the majority required for a confidence vote or to pass any legislation; or fresh elections.

On 26 June, the Civic Democratic Party, KDU-ČSL and the Greens announced that they had agreed on a coalition.