Czechs vote in Senate and regional elections in the aftermath of massive flooding

PRAGUE (AP) — Czechs went to the polls on Friday in a two-day vote for a third of the seats in Parliament’s upper house, the Senate, and to select their representatives in regional elections.

The elections took place as the Czech Republic was recovering from massive floods that hit Central Europe in recent days. The floods claimed at least 24 lives in the region, five of them in the Czech Republic.

State officials helped dozens of the hardest-hit towns organize the ballot in the northeast of the country, where schools and various other buildings that serve as polling stations were submerged and damaged.

Interior Ministry officials took over the organization of the vote in five towns where local authorities were preoccupied with cleanup and recovery efforts.

In some places, voting took place in tents, shipping containers or in the open air.

The current ruling five-party coalition led by Prime Minister Petr Fiala has a clear majority in the 81-seat Senate where 27 seats are up for grabs in the two-round election. The runoffs take place next week.

Parliament’s lower house dominates the legislative process, but the Senate plays an important role in passing constitutional amendments and approving Constitutional Court judges.

In separate regional elections, a political movement led by former populist Prime Minister Andrej Babis is favorite to win for the third straight time.

Babis’ ANO (YES), which is currently in opposition, is also favored to win the next general election scheduled for next year.

The results of the elections will be known late Saturday.

Residents paddle through a flooded street in Bohumin, Czech Republic, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Geese stand on an outdoor table in a flooded neighbourhood in Ostrava, Czech Republic, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

A view of flooded houses in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Firefighters set up an improvised polling station for a two-day vote for one-third of the seats in Parliament’s upper house, the Senate, and to select their representatives in regional elections, in Široká Niva, Czech Republic, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Jaroslav Ozana/CTK via AP)

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A 22-year-old man arrested after a fatal stabbing in Rotterdam that left one person dead and another seriously wounded is suspected of murder and attempted murder with terrorist intent, prosecutors said Friday.

The Rotterdam Public Prosecution Service said in a statement that investigations into the suspect, whose identity has not been released, uncovered “indications that the suspect may be ideologically driven. For example, the suspect shouted Allahu akbar a number of times during the commission of the crimes.”

The stabbing Thursday night in central Rotterdam left a 32-year-old man from Rotterdam dead and a 33-year-old man from Switzerland wounded. Prosecutors say the Swiss man has left hospital after treatment. They did not elaborate on his injuries.

The suspect has previous convictions for violent crimes, prosecutors said in a statement. He will be arraigned on Monday at a court in The Hague.

They stressed that their investigation is “still in full swing and that other motives are also explicitly not ruled out.”

The Dutch government’s terror threat level is currently set at four out of a possible five, meaning that “there is a realistic possibility that an attack will take place in the Netherlands,” the national counterterrorism coordinator said in a statement in early August.

The attack in Rotterdam comes weeks after a fatal terror attack in neighboring Germany.

Late last month a knife attack at a festival in the German city of Solingen left three dead and eight wounded. Police detained a Syrian man on suspicion of murder and membership of a terrorist organization. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack in Germany, without providing evidence.

FILE - The Erasmus Bridge towers over the river Maas in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, April 2007. (AP Photo/ Bas Czerwinski, File)

In this image made from video provided by Media TV, personnel respond to a stabbing incident late Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in the port city of Rotterdam, Netherlands. (Media TV via AP)

In this image made from video provided by Media TV, personnel respond to a stabbing incident late Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in the port city of Rotterdam, Netherlands. (Media TV via AP)