“Unfortunately, there is no other option than to have to talk about when and how we will activate Article 66 of the Constitution,” said the head of the Senate Miloš Vystrčil (ODS).
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“We will legally repeat what the doctors have already said,” added Senator Václav Láska (SEN 21).
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They said this on Monday after a meeting of the organizing committee, where they discussed with colleagues their letter from the president’s attending physician and the head of the Central Committee, Miroslav Zavoral. It shows that Zeman is now unable to exercise his office.
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| The answer of the Central Military Hospital (ÚVN) to the President of the Senate Miloš Vystrčil on the state of health of President Miloš Zeman, as Vystrčil summarized it at the briefing. |
| Communication one: In the opinion of the Central Military Hospital, Miloš Zeman, the President of the Republic, is currently unable to perform any work duties for health reasons. |
| Communication two: In the opinion of the Central Military Hospital, due to the nature of the underlying disease, the long-term prognosis of President Miloš Zeman’s health is assessed as extremely uncertain, and thus the possibility of returning to work in the coming weeks is assessed as unlikely. |
| Third message: On Wednesday, October 13, early in the morning, engineer Vratislav Mynář, head of the office of the President of the Republic, was acquainted with the opinion and opinion of the Central Military Hospital in Prague, to whom the opinion was also submitted in writing. |
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Article 66 deals in particular with the transfer of presidential powers to other constitutional officials in a situation where the office of president is vacant and a new head of state has not yet been elected or has not taken the oath.
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At a time when the office of President would not be filled for any reason, the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies will share part of his powers.
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The President may challenge the activation of an article, the validity of which is sufficient for the votes of an absolute majority of the deputies and senators present, before the Constitutional Court.
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The head of the upper chamber, Miloš Vystrčil, will discuss further steps with the heads of senate clubs and chairmen of parliamentary parties on Tuesday.
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On Monday, the ÚVN sent a response to Vystrčil’s request regarding the president’s health condition on Monday morning. The head of the upper chamber said that he received the letter directly signed from Zeman’s attending physician and the director of ÚVN, Miroslav Zavoral.
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He pushed the report out in the morning and also consulted with legal experts on what information he can still publish. “The diagnosis is not there,” he said. However, he noted that, according to him, it is not even necessary, because the prognosis speaks clearly.
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The President of the Senate also stated that the castle chancellor Vratislav Mynář was informed about Zeman’s condition on Wednesday, October 13.
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A day later, the President of Mynář was the head of the Chamber of Deputies, Radkek Vondráček (YES), who claimed that Zeman had signed the convening of the Chamber of Deputies on 8 November before his eyes.
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On Monday, Mynář accused the Senate and its chairman of trying to make himself visible and of hypocrisy. The head of the upper chamber did not comment on his statement.
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However, speculations began as to whether Mynář had also misled Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO), who described the information on Radiožurnál as surprising.
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On Friday, on behalf of the Senate leadership, he asked the hospital about Zeman’s health condition and the forecast of further development, with regard to his ability to hold office.
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The reason for the request was ambiguity regarding the health condition of Zeman, who was hospitalized again at the ÚVN last Sunday after three weeks.
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Vondráček: I would be careful with activating Article 66
The outgoing head of the Chamber of Deputies, Vondráček, would be careful with the activation of Article 66 of the Constitution on the transfer of powers of the President. He would possibly leave it until the new composition of the House.
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“Our mandate ends on October 21. I don’t think it’s real anymore and it’s not desirable either, “Vondráček told Czech Television.
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According to the chairman of the Civic Democrats and the leader of the TOTAL coalition to Prime Minister Petr Fiala, the next step, ie the activation of Article 66, should be determined by a society-wide debate.
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“The report of the Central Committee that President Zeman is not able to perform his function at the moment is very serious. In the next step, it is necessary to seek agreement across the political spectrum, “Fiala told ČTK.
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Pekarová: Powers need to be divided
The chairwoman of TOP 09 Markéta Pekarová Adamová believes that if the president is not and probably will not even be able to exercise his powers, it is necessary to divide them among other constitutional actors.
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“Activating Article 66 of the Constitution serves the situation we have found ourselves in. If, according to the letter from the Central Committee, the president is not and probably will not be able to exercise his powers, we must divide these powers among other constitutional actors, so as not to paralyze the country. We will proceed in accordance with the constitution, “said Pekarová Adamová.
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The chairman of the People’s Party, Marian Jurečka, has a similar opinion on the matter.
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“Activation of Article 66 of the Constitution seems very likely. Tomorrow (Tuesday) we will have more information, “Jurečka told the situation for ČTK.
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