PRAGUE, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- The newly elected Czech Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday elected Tomio Okamura, chairman of the Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) party, as speaker of the lower house of parliament.
Okamura received 107 votes out of 197 cast in a secret ballot.
The SPD is part of a three-party coalition with the ANO movement, led by former prime minister Andrej Babis, and the Motorists for Themselves party.
Together, the coalition holds 108 seats in the 200-member parliament, forming a majority and preparing to establish a new government headed by Babis.
Born in Tokyo in 1972 to a Czech mother and a father of Japanese-Korean heritage, Okamura's election as speaker marks the highest political office ever held by a member of the SPD.
The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies carries responsibilities of overseeing the chamber's proceedings and may entail performing certain presidential duties if the head of state is unable to do so.
The current government of Prime Minister Petr Fiala is scheduled to meet on Thursday and subsequently submit its resignation to President Petr Pavel, following the opening of the new parliamentary term. ■