rs are elected by
popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate-last held 15-16 and 22-23 November 1996 (next to be
held NA November 1998-to replace/re-elect 20 senators serving two-year
terms); Chamber of Deputies-last held 31 May-1 June 1996 (early
elections to be held NA June 1998)
election results: Senate-percent of vote by party-NA; seats by
party-governing coalition (ODS 32, KDU-CSL 13, ODA 7), opposition
(CSSD 25, KCSM 2, DEU 1, independent 1); Chamber of Deputies-percent
of vote by party-NA; seats by party - governing coalition (ODS 68,
KDU-CSL 18, ODA 13), opposition (CSSD 61, KCSM 22, SPR-RSC 18)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, chairman and deputy chairmen are
appointed by the president for life; Constitutional Court, chairman
and deputy chairmen are appointed by the president for life

Political parties and leaders: Civic Democratic Party or ODS [Vaclav
KLAUS, chairman]; Civic Democratic Alliance or ODA [Jiri SKALICKY,
chairman]; Christian Democratic Union-Czech People's Party or KDU-CSL
[Josef LUX, chairman]; Czech Social Democrats or CSSD-left opposition
[Milos ZEMAN, chairman]; Communist Party or KSCM - left opposition
[Miroslav GREBENICEK, chairman]; Assembly for the Republic or
SPR-RSC-extreme right radical [Miroslav SLADEK, chairman]; Democratic
Union or DEU [Ratibor MAJZLIK, chairman]
note: the governing coalition resigned in November 1997; a caretaker
government, led by Prime Minister Josef TOSOVSKY, was appointed by
President HAVEL in December 1997; new general elections will most
likely be held in June 1998; there are three new parties that have not
been voted into office, but were created in the wake of Prime Minister
KLAUS' resignation: Freedom Union or US [Jan RUML, chairman],
Conservative Consensus Party [Ivan MASEK and Cestmir HOFHANZL], and
Party of the Democratic Center [Josef WAGNER, chairman]

Political pressure groups and leaders: Czech-Moravian Chamber of Trade
Unions; Civic Movement

International organization participation: Australia Group, BIS, CCC,
CE (guest), CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat,
Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NSG, OECD, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMOP, UNOMIG, UNPREDEP, UPU, WEU (associate partner),
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Aleksandr VONDRA
chancery: 3900 Spring of Freed