Independent groups leading in local elections

Polling stations around the Czech Republic closed at 2 PM on Saturday, ending municipal elections and the first round of voting for the Czech Senate. In the municipal elections, various local groups of independent candidates are leading with votes from around 80 percent of districts counted in. The independents are followed by the Christian Democrats and the Civic Democrats.

A record number of candidates are running in the local elections, with 226,000 people vying for posts on municipals councils. The turnout is estimated at 50 percent, slightly higher than four years ago.

Author: Jan Richter