PRAGUE - ANO, the SPD and the Motorists have agreed on a coalition agreement, which they will sign on Monday, 3 November, when the constituent session of the Czech lower house begins. ANO chairman Andrej Babiš, who was appointed by the president to form the government after the parliamentary elections, said this in a video on social X nets. Today, he said, there will also be a discussion on the ANO proposal for new rules of procedure for the lower house of Parliament to make it more efficient. Babiš did not give details of the proposal.
"We have an agreed coalition agreement. We have agreed that we will sign it on Monday, 3 November, the day the new Chamber of Deputies convenes for the first time," Babiš said. Babiš said there are still some points in the negotiations between ANO, the SPD and the Motorists on the programme statement of a possible future government that have yet to be agreed. In addition to the programme statement, representatives of ANO, SPD and the Motorists will also discuss proposals for the leadership of the lower house and individual committees, he reminded. Babiš is expected to provide President Petr Pavel with the coalition agreement and programme priorities in the second half of this week, according to Prague Castle.
"Today we will discuss the new Rules of Procedure of the Chamber of Deputies, our proposal, which the current government in particular has been calling for to be changed so that the Chamber of Deputies will be more effective," Babiš also said. In the last four years, when ANO and SPD were in opposition, the House's proceedings were often blocked by their obstructions, and some sessions dragged on late into the night or even into the following days. Both Babiš and SPD leader Tomio Okamura gave long speeches. In a speech in the House of Commons in June, President Pavel called for reflection on whether it was time to cultivate and modify the rules of parliamentary debate. However, amendments to the Chamber of Deputies' Rules of Procedure aimed at reducing obstruction and increasing the efficiency of proceedings fell under the table with the elections and the end of the last Chamber.
The leadership of the Chamber of Deputies should be elected on the second day of the first post-election session, Wednesday 5 November. According to current information, Okamura could become the speaker of the lower house. His opponent in the secret ballot will be KDU-ČSL nominee Jan Bartošek. The number of deputy speakers of the Chamber of Deputies is expected to drop by two to four compared to the last election period. ANO has announced the nomination of Patrik Nacher, while the Motorists' candidate is not yet known. Two deputy speaker positions will go to the future opposition parties, namely ODS and STAN. The Civic Democrats want to nominate Jan Skopeček again, while the STAN movement has announced the nomination of its chairman and former Interior Minister Vít Rakušan.
CTK/gnews.cz
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