Government MP Marketa Sichtarova (SPD/Svobodni) announced her resignation from parliament on Facebook yesterday, citing her opposition to the government’s draft bill on the digital economy, which has passed on to the next reading in the Chamber of Deputies.
Sichtarova described this as a huge disappointment. On Sunday, SPD leader Tomio Okamura and ANO deputy leader Radek Vondracek called on Sichtarova to be more active in the Chamber of Deputies and more involved in the exercise of her parliamentary mandate.
Sichtarova is a member of the Svobodni party, but was elected on the list of the far-right SPD, which is now a junior party in the government.
Radim Fiala, leader of the SPD parliamentary group, told CTK that he respects Sichtarova’s decision and values her as an economist. He said it was her personal decision.
According to the election results, the Svobodni MP should be replaced by 40-year-old SPD member Josef Nerusil.
“Before the elections, I promised change, not buck-passing,” said Sichtarova yesterday. “But it is clear that real change will not happen, we are continuing to give in to the EU, even at the cost of introducing censorship. In such a situation, it is impossible to fulfill what I promised before the elections. That is why I am resigning my mandate.”
According to Sichtarova, the digital economy law poses a significant threat to freedom of speech under the pretext of combating disinformation. “I will not assist in censorship, as that would negate all my work over many years,” she added.
The MP made her debut speech in the Chamber of Deputies yesterday during the debate on this bill, speaking for the first time since winning her seat.
“No amendments can change the digital economy bill in such a way that it ceases to be dangerous to freedom of speech,” she told MPs. She proposed rejecting the bill. However, only seven SPD MPs, including Sichtarova, voted in favour of her proposal. She accused the other members of the governing coalition of acting in a self-serving manner.
Sichtarova said she had sent a letter to the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, SPD leader Tomio Okamura, in which she resigned her seat in parliament. “The reason is the impossibility of continuing to fulfill my promises to voters with the current composition of the Chamber of Deputies. My decision is effective as of the date of delivery of this statement,” she wrote.
In recent weeks, some media outlets have reported that Sichtarova has been recording videos for social media in the Chamber of Deputies, offering her consulting services. She had a voting participation rate of about 75% in the lower house. She was previously a member of the Chamber’s health and economic committees, but had already left both.
