Czech Republic’s 2021 parliamentary elections: OSCE/ODIHR election expert team final report

The 2021 parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic were well organized and an overall competitive campaign offered voters a wide choice of contestants. Campaign coverage was extensive in both public and private media, and contestants enjoyed generous free airtime. The tone of the campaign was often harsh, with charged language and personal attacks between candidates. Voters enjoyed a variety of ways to cast their votes either at polling stations or from home via mobile voting arrangements, or through special measures introduced for quarantined or self-isolating voters in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

These are some of the main conclusions from the final report on the Czech Republic’s parliamentary elections of 8 and 9 October 2021, published by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). The report offers 10 recommendations to bring elections in the Czech Republic closer in line with OSCE commitments and other international standards for democratic elections.

Key recommendations include:

• Creating a central voter register to facilitate cross-checks of voter lists against multiple or faulty entries as well as to control the use of absentee voting certificates;

• Introducing a threshold for all media ownership and cross-ownership for all types of media to safeguard media pluralism;

• Ensuring the state and political parties make comprehensive efforts to promote the effective participation and decision-making of women in public and political life as well as reviewing current intra-party practices that curb equitable representation of women within party structures.

ODIHR deployed an Election Expert Team on 23 September 2021 to observe the parliamentary elections. All 57 participating States across the OSCE region have formally committed to following up promptly on ODIHR’s election assessments and recommendations.