How to vote in the second round of the Czech presidential election

Voting in the second round of the presidential elections in the Czech Republic will take place on Friday 25 January 2013 from 14:00 – 22:00 CET and on Saturday 26 January 2013 from 08:00 – 14:00 CET. Voters can choose between candidates Karel Schwarzenberg and Miloš Zeman.

The right to vote

Every citizen of the Czech Republic has the right to vote who will have reached the age of 18 by the second day of the second round of the presidential election, i.e., by 26 January 2013 at the very latest.

Voter identification for the second round of the presidential elections

If during the second round of voting a voter finds himself outside of his place of permanent residence, he can cast a vote in an electoral district other than the one to which he belongs per his place of permanent residence as long as he has voter identification. Voter identification for the second round of the presidential election can still be requested today, 23 January 2013, in person by 16:00 at the latest at the municipal authority in the place of the voter’s permanent residence where the voter is listed on the permanent electoral roll, or at a consulate or embassy where the voter has asked to be listed on a special electoral roll. In such cases no written request is required, as the office authorized to issue voter identification will make an official record of the voter’s request after verifying his identity in which all the necessary data will be listed.

Ballots for the second round

Unlike the first round of the presidential election, when ballots were delivered to voters at their home addresses prior to the vote, the ballots for the second round of elections will be available to all voters at polling places only. The reason the ballots are not delivered to voters in advance is the possibility envisioned by the law on voting for the president of the republic that a candidate may always resign his candidacy up to 24 hours before voting begins. In such a circumstance, the candidate who won the next-highest number of valid votes during the first round would proceed to the second round. Prior to initiating the second round of the presidential elections, district electoral commissions will choose and deliver to the voters only ballots for the candidates actually proceeding in the second round. This reduces the risk of invalid votes being cast by voters for candidates who have not continued in the second round.

Voting abroad

Voters who want to vote at a consulate or embassy of the Czech Republic abroad may do so as in the first round, either by showing voter identification or on the basis of registering in a special electoral roll at a consulate or embassy. The deadline for registration into a special electoral roll at a consulate or embassy expired on 2 December 2012 and will not be re-extended for the second round. However, it is possible on 23 January 2013 to ask that a consulate or embassy remove a voter from the special electoral roll and issue confirmation to the voter of his removal. The voter then submits this confirmation to the municipal authority in his place of permanent residency on the territory of the Czech Republic in order to be once again enrolled in the permanent electoral roll there. The voter may also submit confirmation that he has been removed from the special electoral roll at a consulate or embassy directly to the district electoral commission in the voting district to which he belongs per his place of permanent residence. The commission will add him to the permanent electoral roll and allow him to vote.