Upper House Votes To Bring Charges Against Zeman

The upper house of the Czech Parliament has voted to bring charges against President Milos Zeman for allegedly violating the constitution.

 

The Senate, which is controlled by the opposition, voted 48-20 Wednesday to file the charges at the Constitutional Court. Zeman denies wrongdoing.

 

But a three-fifths majority in Parliament’s lower house would also have to approve the Senate’s request for the court to deal with the case. That’s unlikely to happen because the house is dominated by Prime Minister Andrej Babis’ ANO (YES) centrist movement, Zeman’s ally.

 

The Senators charged Zeman with failing to act in line with the constitution in eight cases, including a repeated failure to appoint proposed government ministers. If the court agrees with the charges, Zeman would lose the presidency, a largely ceremonial job.

 

Via Reuters