Tories Face Lisbon Referendum Turmoil as the Czechs Vow to Ratify EU Treaty by New Year
MAIL ONLINE: The Czech Republic will ratify the Lisbon Treaty before the New Year, the country's prime minister promised today.

In a move that could derail Conservative Party plans to hold a referendum on the EU agreement if they win power at the general election next spring, Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer said the country will not derail the long-awaited reform treaty.

The Czech Constitutional Court is studying a complaint against the treaty and the Eurosceptic Czech President, Vaclav Klaus, has not yet signed it.

Lisbon cannot take effect unless all 27 EU countries ratify it. All but the Czech Republic and Poland have done so.

Mr Fischer was speaking after talks in Brussels in the wake of the Irish 'Yes' vote last weekend.

One man holds the key - eurosceptic Czech president Vaclav Klaus, whose signature is required to complete full ratification of the treaty.

He says he is waiting for the outcome of a treaty challenge lodged with the constitutional court by a group of Czech senators.

And Mr Fischer, who has little sway over his president, said procedures were being speeded up.

After a treaty meeting by video conference with European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso and European Parliament president Jerzy Buzek, he said: 'Everything is in place for the treaty to be ready and implemented by the end of this year. >>> | Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Recount Set as Iran Seethes
Protests in Tehran by supporters of defeated candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi turned violent late Tuesday. Photo: The Wall Street Journal
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: TEHRAN -- Pro-government and opposition demonstrators poured into the streets of Iran's capital Tuesday for a fourth day of sometimes-violent rallies, as the country's religious leaders agreed to a partial recount of Friday's disputed presidential vote.

Amid the unrest, and more shooting by government-backed militia, authorities arrested prominent opposition leaders and clamped down on media covering the crisis. The demonstrations came hours after state media reported the top religious oversight council would examine Friday's vote, which saw President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad trounce opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi and two other challengers.

The plan by the Guardian Council for a targeted recount -- aimed at specific voting sites where fraud was alleged -- is the first direct action by authorities to address claims of irregularities by rivals of Mr. Ahmadinejad. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on state matters, said Monday he asked the Guardian Council to look into those allegations.

Such a recount appears to be unprecedented, and it wasn't immediately clear when it would begin, or how many voting sites would be included.

Mr. Mousavi and the other two candidates announced the recount wouldn't be acceptable to them. Representatives of the three candidates had met with the spokesperson of the Guardian Council on Tuesday morning and asked that the results be annulled and new elections be held. Alternatively, they asked that an independent committee, made of up of clerics, lawmakers and experts, review the charges of vote rigging.

"After these elections the public no longer trusts the Interior Ministry or the Guardian Council, therefore they can't trust their vote recounts, either," said cleric Ali Akbar Mohtashamipour, a spokesman for Mr. Mousavi's camp.

Mr. Khamenei called for national unity, and was quoted on state television saying, "In the elections, voters had different tendencies, but they equally believe in the ruling system and support the Islamic Republic." >>> By Farnaz Fassihi | Wednesday, June 17, 2009