Prague - The presidential election will take place next week, on January 11 and 12, as originally planned. The Czech Constitutional Court rejected an appeal filed by Tomio Okamura, in which he asked for the presidential election to be postponed.
The verdict was reached unanimously by all judges.
Okamura had appealed to the court after his candidacy had been excluded by the Interior Ministry in December, asking for the decision to be revoked.
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"The election will take place on Friday (January 11) without Tomio Okamura," said the court's secretary general Tomas Langasek.
Okamura's lawyer, Klara Samkova, sharply criticized the verdict. "The Constitutional Court sent a signal that there is nothing wrong with violating the constitution," she said to state Czech Television.
By contrast, the verdict was welcomed by Prime Minister Petr Necas and Justice Minister Pavel Blazek (both from the ruling Civic Democratic Party).
"I acknowledge the Constitutional Court's decision and I appreciate that the judges ruled in such short time frame," said PM Necas.
"It is a good news for the citizens of our country. We can start so much needed changes in Czech politics by the presidential election," said Jan Fisher, a leading presidential candidate and former prime minister in a caretaker government.
However, the court will keep assessing Okamura's complaint, because the unsuccessful presidential candidate has also asked for the abolition of the requirement for independent candidates to collect 50,000 signatures of legitimate voters.
The court also rejected other complaints, filed by three different people, against the way presidential candidates had been selected.
