Czech election may end in stalemate

PRAGUE, June 3 (Reuters) The Czech conservative opposition defeated sleaze-tainted ruling Social Democrats in weekend elections but may struggle to cobble together a majority to push through its economic reform agenda.

Projections based on preliminary results today gave Civic Democrats and its preferred partners -- Christian Democrats and Greens -- 101 seats in the 200-member lower house, down from 113 seen by exit polls when voting ended at 1730 hrs IST.

But another projection, by the Czech news agency CTK, showed the first election since the prosperous ex-communist nation joined the European Union in 2004 ended in a stalemate with the centre-right and leftist parties holding 100 seats each.

Conservative leader Mirek Topolanek claimed victory nevertheless but his rival, Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek, refused to throw in the towel and threatened to challenge the result in court.

He said corruption allegations against him and the Social Democrats that surfaced days before voting were pure slander and might give grounds to invalidate the election.

''We will check if there are grounds to file.. a complaint with the Supreme Administrative Court,'' he told a news conference. ''Democracy in this country has suffered an assault.'' CORRUPTION The Civic Democrats campaigned on promises to cut taxes, reform pensions and weed out corruption to make the country of 10.5 million more competitive in the global economy.

Their victory would mean the Czechs will be the second ex-communist EU nation after Poland to turn mildly eurosceptic since the bloc's eastward enlargement.

The Civic Democrats oppose deeper European integration and the stalled EU constitution and are lukewarm on Paroubek's aim of adopting the euro in 2010, saying reforms should come first.

Surveys ahead of the vote showed many voters had mixed feelings about the conservatives' economic reform agenda but wanted to punish the Social Democrats over sleaze scandals that flourished during their 8-year rule.

Analysts said Czechs were also worried about Paroubek's declared intention to rule with a minority government with Communist support after the vote.

The Communists, whose authoritarian Soviet-backed rule ended in the 1989 ''Velvet Revolution'', saw their share of the vote and seats drop significantly but they will remain the third biggest force in the new parliament.

Two more parties passed the five percent threshold needed to gain seats -- the Christian Democrats and the Green Party, both centrist groupings that back the Civic Democrats' reform agenda.

Reuters PDS VP0215