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Czechs voting from abroad in the upcoming election will be able to choose from among candidates in the region of South Bohemia, the Interior Ministry has announced. South Bohemia was chosen in a draw held by the State Electoral Commission, out of a possible 14 regions. Expatriates and Czechs abroad for the short-term have so far been able to vote in two previous national elections, in 2002 and in 2006. The first time voters were allotted South Moravia, the second, South Bohemia. Roughly 3,800 out of some 70,000 potential voters abroad took part in the vote in 2002.

General elections will be held in the Czech Republic on the last weekend of May, the country’s president, Václav Klaus, announced on Friday. The dates are the latest possible on which the elections could have been held. While Mr Klaus had previously hinted at those dates, their confirmation will help party bosses plan their campaigns.

Speakers of the two Czech chambers of parliament have called for elections to the lower house to be held before the end of May. Their call came following a New Year’s meeting with Czech President Václav Klaus on Tuesday. President Klaus said on Monday that he favoured calling a vote at the latest possible date, on May 28 -29.

But speaker of the upper house, Přemysl Sobotka, said he would prefer the vote a week earlier. His lower house counterpart, Miloslav Vlček, suggested the date should be around May 15. They argue an earlier election would give more time for a new government based on a political mandate to replace the current caretaker administration. One of the main tasks of the new government will be to decide on a budget for 2011.

The acting chairman of the Green Party Ondřej Liška has been confirmed in the post at a Green Party conference, defeating two other contenders by a large margin. While the new Green Party leadership believes it now has enough support to curb internal infighting and address waning voter support, leading the party to success in the next elections will be an uphill struggle.