Czech Presidential election

The next president of the Czech Republic is being chosen by parliament at a session today .

Parliamentary deputies are deciding between the current president, Vaclav Havel, a Communist Stanislav Fischer, and a far-right candidate Miroslav Sladek of the Republican Party who is in jail awaiting trial for inciting racial hatred.

The BBC Prague Correspondent says Mr Havel is almost certain to win another five-year term despite his recent ill-health.

But his standing has been damaged by criticism of his role in the forced resignation of Vaclav Klaus as prime minister, which has left the Republic facing early elections under a caretaker government.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service