Czech Social Democrats win one seat in Senate in by-elections

Social Democrat Jiri Lajtoch, the mayor of the town of Prerov, has been elected Senator for the Prerov constituency after winning 53.23 percent of votes in the second round of the Senate by-elections. Mr Lajtoch narrowly defeated Communist candidate Josef Nekl. The voter turnout in the Senate by-elections was 9.66 percent of eligible voters, the lowest in the history of Czech Senate elections. With 41 Senators, the Civic Democratic Party still holds a majority in the 81-member upper chamber. The number of Social Democrat Senators has risen to 13.