Final Word from Wednesday, April 17, 2019
Just as God helps those who help themselves, the Constitution helps those who know how to read it. Under Art. 56, new presidential elections must be held within 90 days if the office becomes prematurely vacant for whatever reason. If the resignation (or death) of the incumbent president were timed properly, even an uncooperative president of the Senate could be forced to announce a shorter campaign period, since elections must start on a Friday. As we pointed out in Jan. 2013, Para. 21 of the implementation law for the presidential election requires that candidates submit their bids at least 66 days before the election takes place, which gives candidates in a special presidential election a maximum of 24 days to gather the required signatures, and potentially only 17 days. Politicians, political scientists and journalists who are splitting their sides with laughter over Jaromír Soukup's announced intention in April 2019 to run for Czech president in 2023 should study the Constitution and decide whether their candidates would have a fighting chance if Soukup knew something they didn't. [ Czech Republic article translation Miloš Zeman ]
Glossary of difficult words
Constitution - we have linked to the Czech version, because the official translation provided by the Chamber of Deputies incorrectly translates Art. 56; our proposed correction reads as follows, "Should the office of the President become vacant, the President of the Senate of the Czech Republic shall announce the election of the President within ten days of the office’s becoming vacant and simultaneously at most eighty days prior to holding such election"; the official translation reads as follows, "Should the office of the President become vacant, the President of the Senate of the Czech Republic shall announce the election of the President ten days prior to holding such election at the latest and simultaneously eighty days prior to holding such election";
incumbent - the holder of an office or post;
to split one's side with laughter - to laugh uproariously or hysterically;
fighting chance - a small but real possibility that something can be done.