Referenda in the political system of the Czech Republic Cover Image

Referenda w systemie politycznym Republiki Czeskiej
Referenda in the political system of the Czech Republic

Author(s): Krzysztof Koźbiał
Subject(s): Government/Political systems, Electoral systems
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: Czech Republic; direct democracy; referendum; Czech political system; the Czech Pirate Party;

Summary/Abstract: The Czech Republic is one of those European countries where direct democratic instruments, such as referendums, are rarely resorted to at the state level. Only the country’s accession to the European Union (2003) was decided in this way in the Czech Republic. On the local level, on the other hand, the Czech experience with referendums is rich. Between 2006 and 2021, more than 300 referendums were held, an average of more than 20 per year. The issues dealt with in these referendums included infrastructure issues, the location of wind power plants or the storage of radioactive waste. The future of the use of referendums more widely than before in the Czech political system will depend, among other things, on the outcome of the parliamentary elections to be held in the autumn of 2021. The Czech Pirate Party, which has a significant chance of winning this election, is in favour of using this type of voting far more often than before.

  • Issue Year: 2021
  • Issue No: 15
  • Page Range: 77-91
  • Page Count: 15
  • Language: Polish
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