EP elections have finished in the Czech Republic, first results will be announced 9 June before midnight - how do the Romani candidates evaluate their chances?
Voting in the elections to the European Parliament, which were held for a fifth time in the Czech Republic, ended on 8 June at 14:00 CET. Voters decided which one of the 30 coalitions, movements and parties competing will occupy the 21 seats for Czech MEPs and to what degree the protest groups managed to push through their candidates.
Turnout exceeded 30 % in many places throughout the Czech Republic and even exceeded 40 % in Prague. That is a higher rate than five years ago.
In socially excluded localities, turnout was quite low. No problems of any significance have been reported with the vote.
Those are the conclusions drawn by the Czech News Agency (ČTK) after surveying the electoral commissions and local authorities responsible for managing the polling places. According to both bookmakers’ odds and exit polls, the opposition Association of Dissatisfied Citizens (ANO) movement will probably defend its predicted position ahead of the coalition now governing the country, Spolu (Together).
Preliminary results will not be published until just before midnight on Sunday, 9 June, once voting has ended in most of the EU Member States. According to the five pre-election polls conducted by Data Collect, Ipsos, Kantar CZ, and STEM/MARK, ANO should win between 23 and 27 % of the vote, which would guarantee the movement at least defends the six seats it currently holds and could gain another.
David Beňák: If Romani turnout was low, we have to keep explaining why elections are important
One of the ANO movement’s candidates was Romani community member David Beňák, who ran in 17th place. “I’d like to thank all of the citizens who went to the polls, and above all I thank the Romani people who cast their ballots,” he told news server Romea.cz.
“I know that we Roma, for understandable reasons, don’t much trust the state, and for that reason we don’t trust elections either,” Beňák said. “I’ve received a lot of feedback from the Romani voters who cast their ballots and circled my name as an expression of their faith.”
“That’s wonderful feedback for me, but whether we managed to persuade enough Romani people to go to the polls because this is about our common future is something we won’t learn until Sunday night,” Beňák said. “If Romani turnout for these elections will prove to have been low, that’s a signal to all of us to continue explaining why elections are important to Romani people.”
“We Roma cannot afford to ignore such an opportunity to influence our future,” Beňák told news server Romea.cz. Should the current governing coalition called Spolu win about 21 % of the vote, that would yield between five and six EP seats for it.
The parties in the coalition – Civic Democratic Party (ODS), Christian Democrats (KDU-ČSL) and TOP 09 – took a total of eight seats in the previous EP elections five years ago when they did not run together. Third place is being contested by the Pirates, the Mayors and Independents, and a coalition ticket between the “Freedom and Direct Democracy” (SPD) party, currently seated in the Czech Parliament, and the Tricolor party, which holds no seats.
According to pre-election surveys, the Pirates have a chance of winning between nine and 12 % of the vote, which would mean they would keep their three seats, but two of those surveys forecast that they will lose a seat. Likewise, the Mayors and Independents could win anywhere between eight and 13 % of the vote, thanks to which they could win two or three seats, two more than they now hold.
Jaroslav Miko: The Roma should not believe populists like Babiš
Jaroslav Miko, a Romani community member who is a long-haul truck driver, ran for the Mayors and Independents at 10th place on their list. He told news server Romea.cz of his gratitude to those who turned out to support his candidacy.
“I’d mainly like to thank all the brilliant people who were part of my campaign team. It’s been great. My big, sincere thanks also go to everybody who voted for me this year. I don’t take your trust in me lightly. I actually received many, many photos and reports that you used your valuable option to circle a candidate for me in particular,” Miko said.
“Even if your support doesn’t win me a seat, it means a lot to me and it also means the Mayors and Independents got your vote, so even if I don’t personally succeed, your circling of my candidacy was decidedly not done in vain,” Miko said, adding that he believes liberal, pro-EU forces will win throughout the EU this year. “Romani people should not trust populist parties like the ANO movement in particular, or populists like Babiš who will have no problem going into political collaboration with the Nazis and the racists,” Miko told news server Romea.cz.
The joint ticket of the SPD and Tricolor, according to the pre-election surveys, should win between eight and 11 % of the vote, thanks to which the SPD would defend its current two seats in the EP or pick up one more. Those surveys also predicted that the joint ticket called Enough!, led by the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSČM), should win roughly between six and eight per cent of the vote and defend its current seat or even pick up another one, according to two of the most recent surveys.
The joint ticket of Motorists Unite and the Oath (Přísaha) party, which are not seated in the Czech Parliament, could be voted for by anywhere between 2.5 and 7.2 % of those casting ballots, which would earn them one seat at the EP. Support for that ticket could have been influenced by recent revelations that the ticket’s leader, Filip Turek, has a penchant for using fascist symbols.
Ivana Batthyány: We are building a movement against discrimination and racism even if we don’t win
The other groups running, including the loudest protest movements who have held demonstrations against the Czech Republic’s involvement in NATO or against the Government were not given much of a chance of being elected by the pre-election surveys, nor was The Left (Levice) party, which ran the Romani candidate Ivana Batthyány. “My view is the same as that of Claudia De la Cruz, who is running for the American presidency as the candidate for the Peace and Freedom Party,” she told news server Romea.cz.
“[De la Cruz] knows she’ll never win, but as she put it in one of her excellent speeches, her campaign is just an instrument to build the socialist movement. It’s merely one of the many occasions on which she can motivate people to take an interest in what is going on and to get organized. I would like to thank my voters and to tell them that I will continue to fight against racism and for the suppression of discrimination against Romani people,” Batthyány told news server Romea.cz.
The official outcome of the EP elections in the Czech Republic will be confirmed after they are reviewed by the State Electoral Commission on Monday and will probably be announced on Tuesday in the Collection of Laws. From Wednesday, 12 June through Friday, 21 June it will then be possible to appeal the outcome of the vote to the Supreme Administrative Court.
