11. ELECTIONS AND REFERENDUM

On 1 and 2 November 2002, based on the decision of the President of the Czech Republic, elections to local councils were held on the territory of the Czech Republic in accordance with Act No. 491/2001 Coll., on Elections to Local Councils and the Amendment to Some Laws, of 6 November 2001.

Elections to local councils (local elections) were held on the principle of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot. The right to vote was enjoyed by Czech nationals aged 18+ at least on the second day of the elections who were residing in the municipality concerned and were granted the right to vote by international convention, and were not hindered by law to exercise their right to vote. The number of members elected to the local council was dependent on the population of municipality and ranged between 5 and 55. The voter was free to use one of three ways of casting his/her vote stipulated by the electoral law, using the ballot common to all parties standing for the elections in the municipality.

The tables give a general survey on the number of elected local councils, voters on the list of electors and the turnout. Total voting results by selected political party (represented in Parliament), which put up their candidates, and results for independent candidates are also given. The figure on the number of the votes won indicates that each voter could cast his/her vote for as many candidates as the number of local councillors elected in the municipality was.

On 13 and 14 June 2003, the referendum on the accession of the Czech Republic to the European Union was held on the territory of the Czech Republic. The date of the referendum was declared by the decision of the President of the Czech Republic. The referendum was conducted in accordance with Act No. 114/2003 Coll., on Conducting the Referendum on the Accession of the Czech Republic to the European Union and on the Amendment of Some Acts (Referendum Implementation Act) and Decree No. 115/2003 Coll., according to which some provision of Act No. 114/2003 Coll., are implemented.

The referendum was held on the principle of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot in election wards established according to Act No. on Elections to Local Councils. The right to cast his/her vote in the referendum was enjoyed by each Czech national aged 18+ at least on the second day of the referendum, who was not hindered by law to exercise his/her right to vote. The entitled citizens cast their votes on ballots, in which they indicated their answer to the question by ticking the respective box.

More detailed information on the results of the local elections in individual regions, broken down to the level of wards is available at the information services departments of the CZSO regional offices and on the CZSO website www.czso.cz.