Přímá volba prezidenta – konec cesty trvající 23 let

The Czech Republic for a long time belonged to the minority of European republics whose presidents are elected indirectly. At the same time the issue of direct election was a relatively live one in the Czech public for almost twenty years. Among politicians at the parliamentary level it has been discussed very strongly for approximately the last ten years. It is a paradox that, even when direct election of the President has stable support not only of the majority of Czech society but also of the majority of parliamentary parties, this issue was so long constantly only discussed. The discussions, as will be shown further, ran their course in specific waves, and very rarely is this constitutional problem considered in the whole of its breadth. With regard to the fact that a change in the manner of the election of the Head of State hides in itself the potential to impact the functioning of the whole constitutional system, it is worth it to follow how this problem conceived in the Czech Republic. A further reason is the reality that after last year’s elections to the Chamber of Deputies (2010), those political parties who have direct election as one of the points of their program gained strength, and we are also dealing with one of the points of the Government’s agenda. This article is devoted to the standing of the President of the Republic in the contemporary Czech constitutional system, the manner of his election and current powers, and further to considerations about direct election from the year 1918 to the present, and to relevant amendments for change to the Constitution. Attention is also devoted to the difficulties which it is necessary, in the opinion of the author, to come to terms with during a potential change in the manner of the election of the President if the current balance of powers between the constitutional organs is to remain preserved.