After the Czech parliamentary election, politicians and the public expect the nomination of the next prime minister, yet President Miloš Zeman has fallen seriously ill and legislators have begun the process of the suspension of his powers. The reasoning for this, in turn, has triggered a police investigation into possible crimes against the state, British news portal The Guardian reports.
The developments came as the Czech Parliament’s Senate’s constitutional committee voted on Tuesday, October 19, unanimously in favour of suspending the powers of the president, Miloš Zeman.
The jolting series of events threatened to further complicate the country’s prolonged post-election limbo after the elections this month led to a shock defeat for Babiš’ ruling ANO (Action for Dissatisfied Citizens) party and created the need to form a new governing coalition.
Read also: After Czech election, President Zeman taken to hospital
The trigger for police involvement followed revelations from the chair of the senate that doctors treating the president, who is in intensive care in the central military hospital in Prague, had judged him too ill to fulfil his duties and described his prognosis as «very uncertain».
The issue of his powers is scheduled to go to a full senate vote on 5 November, with the chamber of deputies expected to vote when it returns for its first post-election sitting three days later. A simple majority in each house is needed to transfer the president’s powers. The Presidents diagnosis has not been made public but Czech media, citing well-placed medical sources, have reported that he may be suffering from hepatic encephalopathy, a condition associated with liver failure that is said to impair intellectual functioning, The Guardian reports.
Czech President’s health issues cause political storm in Prague
