Sokolov: ANO goes into opposition as new coalition takes city hall

In Sokolov, the third-largest town in the Karlovy Vary Region, a new ruling coalition of three political groups has taken shape, while ANO, the winner of the election, is left without power. Jan Pička, leader of the “Together for Sokolov” list, told a news agency about the deal.

The coalition includes “Sokolov Full Time” (STAN and independents), “Movement for the Town of Sokolov” (ODS and independents) and “Together for Sokolov and VOK” (Volba pro kraj). Together they hold 17 of the 27 seats on the city council. According to Pička, the partners found common ground in the priorities of their election programmes. “We agreed that we would go together and form a coalition with 17 seats,” he said.

What the election decided

Five groups made it onto Sokolov’s city council in last week’s municipal elections. ANO won with eight seats. “Sokolov Full Time” came second (seven seats) and “Movement for the Town of Sokolov” third (six). “Together for Sokolov and VOK” won four seats and SPD two.

Miroslav Balatka, leader of “Sokolov Full Time”, wrote on Facebook that the parties still have to negotiate the coalition agreement, the distribution of posts and priorities.

ANO: there is still hope

ANO list leader Erik Klimeš confirmed in the evening that the movement knows about the agreement. “It’s true, we have that information, so we are going into opposition,” he said. However, Klimeš added that ANO will still try to build contact with the other parties: “Although everything looks fairly final now, if an opportunity appears, we will certainly use it and look for some option.”

Previously, Sokolov’s town hall was run by a coalition of ANO and “Together for Sokolov” with 15 seats. It governed for three terms in a row. In the election four years ago, ANO won 11 seats and “Together for Sokolov” four.

Source: seznamzpravy.cz