The Prague ODS described the search for signatures during the elections as unethical, violating the fairness of political competitions and as circumventing the meaning of the law on elections, which supposedly needs to be clarified. “It simply came to our notice then. But where there is no appeal to decency and fairness, there must be sanctions, “commented the proposal of the ODS, the mayor of Prague 9 and the magistrate Tomáš Portlík. “Of course, it was not a petition, but a Čižinský campaign for municipal elections, in which his people also slandered local democratic elected politicians,” Portlík added.

Prague, on the other hand, interprets the initiative to change the law as an attempt to reduce political competition. According to us, a possible change in the law is being bought by the mayor of Prague 7, Jan Čižinský, and will affect several thousand civic candidates who work throughout the country in municipalities and cities as an association of independent candidates. According to him, the so-called “Lex Prague to itself” would make it even more difficult for civic initiatives to participate in elections, which, unlike political parties and movements, must be supplemented by a proportional number of signatures and not entitled to a state contribution. “Democrats should support civic activities always and everywhere. Not just when it suits them. Because otherwise they are not very great democrats, “said Čižinský. Prague also pays attention to the fact that before the last municipal elections, no one solved the collection of signatures for Prague for themselves, because at that time it did not represent serious competition for political entities. In the election three years ago, the “civic candidate” won 16.5 percent of the vote and 13 deputies. “We have made it a law for you to collect signatures, but we will now tell you that it is only possible to collect sometimes and somewhere,” Prague said.