Czech vote in Senate and regional elections in the aftermath of massive flooding

PRAGUE (AP) — Czechs took to the polls on Friday in a two-day vote for a third of the seats in Parliament’s upper house, the Senate, and to select their representatives in regional elections.

The elections take place as the country was recovering from massive floods that hit Central Europe in recent days. The floods claimed at least 24 lives in the region, five of them in the Czech Republic.

State officials helped dozens of the hardest-hit towns organize the ballot in northeast Czech Republic where schools and various other buildings that serve as polling stations were submerged and damaged.

Interior Ministry officials took over the organization of the vote in five towns where local authorities were preoccupied with cleanup and recovery efforts.

In some places, voting took place in tents, containers or in the open air.

The current ruling five-party coalition lead by Prime Minister Petr Fiala has a clear majority in the 81-seat Senate where 27 seats are up for grabs in the two-round election. The runoffs take place next week.

Parliament’s lower house dominates the legislative process, but the Senate plays an important role in passing constitutional amendments and approving Constitutional Court judges.

In separate regional elections, a political movement led by former populist Prime Minister Andrej Babis is favourite to win for the third straight time.

Babis’ ANO (YES), which is currently in opposition, is also favoured to win the next general election scheduled for next year.

The results of the elections are to be known late Saturday.