Parliamentary Heads Elected

Czech Lower House

Prague, Dec 15 (CTK) – The Chamber of Deputies elected the heads of most of its permanent commissions and delegations at its plenary session today, and only the commission supervising the General Inspection of Security Forces (GIBS) and that for the constitution remain without its heads.

 

The results of the secret votes were announced by electoral commission head Martin Kolovratnik (ANO).

 

Former deputy prime minister Pavel Belobradek (Christian Democrats, KDU-CSL) will head the commission monitoring the BIS counter-intelligence. Former prime minister Bohuslav Sobotka (CSSD) will lead the parliamentary delegation to the Central European Initiative.

 

Other parliamentary delegations are newly headed by Pirates MP Ondrej Polansky (Inter-Parliamentary Union, IPU), ANO MP Josef Hajek (NATO Parliamentary Assembly), Freedom and Democracy (SPD) MP Karla Marikova (OSCE Parliamentary Assembly) and Civic Democrat (ODS) MP Miroslava Nemcova (Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly).

 

Due to an administrative mistake of the Social Democrats (CSSD), their candidate could not run for the head of the commission for the constitution.

 

Controversial Communist (KSCM) MP Zdenek Ondracek, a former member of the communist riot police unit who intervened against a peaceful demonstration in 1989, failed to be elected head of the commission supervising the GIBS.

 

The nomination of SPD MP Miloslav Rozner for the head of the commission supervising the activities of the NBU security office caused criticism, too. However, Rozner was elected to the post.

 

Pirates MP group’s head Jakub Michalek said the agreements reached in the lower house were violated when KSCM MP Pavel Kovacik was elected head of the commission for the work of the lower house office instead of Pirates MP Ondrej Profant.

 

In reaction, KSCM leader Vojtech Filip said the agreement had been made without the Communists and at their expense.

 

Michalek said ANO MPs seemed to vote in support of Kovacik, thus violating the agreement, to compensate the Communists for not supporting their nominee Ondracek.

 

List of heads of lower house’s permanent commissions elected today:

 

Commission for

MP

work of lower house office

Pavel Kovacik (KSCM)

family, equal opportunities and ethnic minorities

Jana Pastuchova (ANO)

supervising GIBS inspection

candidate Zdenek Ondracek (KSCM) not elected

supervising use of wiretapping

Tomas Vymazal (Pirates)

supervising access to data from central registry of accounts

Karel Krejza (ODS)

supervising activities of BIS counter-intelligence

Pavel Belobradek (KDU-CSL)

supervising activities of NBU security office

Miloslav Rozner (SPD)

supervising activities of VZ military intelligence

Vit Rakusan (STAN)

supervising activities of Financial Analytical Office

Frantisek Vacha (TOP 09)

supervising activities of NUKIB

cyber and information security office

Pavel Jelinek (SPD