Tomio Okamura, head of the SPD movement, became the new chairman of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament (PSP) of the Czech Republic on Wednesday. 107 deputies voted for his election in a secret election. In addition to him, Jan Bartošek also applied for the post, who was proposed by the KDU-ČSL party heading into the opposition. He received 81 votes. The chairman of the election commission, Martin Kolovratník, informed about the results of the election, writes TASR correspondent in Prague.
The debate on the election of the head of the chamber lasted almost seven hours. Deputies of the expiring coalition were critical of Okamura’s nomination, reminding him of his statements from previous election periods or many hours of obstruction or inappropriate comments about colleagues. Several of them, including Prime Minister Petr Fiala, consider the head of the SPD at the head of the lower house of the parliament to be a national and international shame and his statements a significant security risk.
Before the election, Okamura told the deputies in a short speech that if they give him confidence, he wants to be an impartial chairman of all, regardless of who among them will vote for him.
Bartošek, who was nominated by the KDU-ČSL club, stood against the head of the SPD in the election. According to the KDU-ČSL, Okamura does not meet the requirements for the leadership of the Chamber and represents a threat to the good reputation of the Czech Republic. She pointed out that this is the third highest constitutional official who has an important diplomatic role.
