The Growing Litigiousness of Czech Elections

The 2006 Czech elections produced a record number of lawsuits, more than all previous elections to the Chamber of Deputies combined. This article explains the rise as due primarily to the introduction of a new administrative court with special responsibility for electoral disputes. Although the law makes a successful challenge to a result almost impossible, low-cost litigation is attractive to minor political parties as a form of campaigning. The article focuses on the two aspects of the 2006 election that generated the most complaints, media coverage and disproportionality between seats and votes.