Czech voters will elect a new parliament on October 25-26. The previous parliament was dissolved in August following weeks of turmoil and the collapse of Prime Minister Petr Necas's government amid a bribery scandal. The election is likely to give the Communist Party its best result since the Velvet Revolution nearly 25 years ago. Opinion polls show the Social Democratic Party in first and the Czech Communist Party (KSCM) in second. The center-right parties ANO and TOP09 are running third and fourth. (12 PHOTOS)
Sights Of The Czech Election Campaign
1
The giant purple "middle finger" sculpture by Czech artist David Cerny on October 21, 2013 in Prague's Vltava River. It was installed four days before the early Czech general elections and targets the state of Czech politics and the "endemic corruption" of Czech President Milos Zeman, said Cerny.
2
Pedestrians walk past preelection posters of Czech Social Democratic Party (CSSD) leaders Bohuslav Sobotka (left) and Jaroslav Zahradil in Prague on October 1. The Czech Republic will hold early elections on October 25-26. The poster reads: "We will enforce a well-functioning state."
3
Hanged dummies with "Was against the Communist Party" written on them dangling from a street lamp in Prague. The dummies have been installed in several cities to symbolize the people executed in Czechoslovakia for political reasons during the Communist reign (1948-89) and show alarm at the high numbers in opinion polls enjoyed by the communists ahead of the elections.
4
A hanged dummy with "Was against the Communist Party" written on it blows in the wind with the Prague Castle in the background on October 22.
5
Czech billionaire Andrej Babis during a campaign stop in Prague of his party ANO (Yes). Babis is the Czech Republic's second-richest man and founder of the food processing and chemical holding company Agrofert. Babis heads the party he founded and is running for parliament.
6
Leaflets and free food on a table at a campaign stand for the ANO (Yes) party in Prague on October 3. ANO, which was founded by Czech billionaire Andrej Babis, is third in the latest opinion polls ahead of the October 25-26 elections.
7
Czech billionaire Andrej Babis (center) hands out donuts while campaigning for his party ANO (Yes) on October 23 in Prague.
8
A campaign banner in Prague reading "In the service of our country" and featuring the chairman of the center-right Top 09 party, Karel Schwarzenberg; it mimicks a look from the 007-James Bond films.
9
TOP09 chairman Karel Schwarzenberg (with necktie) toasts during an election campaign rally at a pub in Prague on October 3.
10
A man pulls a cart full of scrap materials past a mural depicting TOP09 party chairman Karel Schwarzenberg that has been painted on an abandoned building in Prague.
11
A woman walks past an election poster of the Party of Citizens' Rights -- Zeman's People (SPOZ) in Prague. The poster reads: ''I give my vote to Zeman's people, and you?" SPOZ is a center-left party founded in 2009 by Czech President Milos Zeman, a former prime minister and ex-leader of the Social Democratic Party.
12
The empty Czech lower house of parliament after a vote on the dissolution of the legislative body in Prague on August 20. A caretaker government led by Jiri Rusnok lost a vote of confidence on August 7. The parliament voted to dissolve itself on August 20, paving the way for the early elections.