AlQa'dah 27, 1433, Oct 13, 2012, SPA -- Czech left-wing opposition parties have won a major victory in regional elections, capitalizing on public anger over the government's austerity measures, AP reported. With 99 percent of votes counted Saturday, the opposition Social Democrats won in nine of 13 regions contested, while the Communists claimed the victory in two, their best result since the collapse of Communism. The Social Democrats won in all 13 regions in the previous 2008 ballot. Prime Minister Petr Necas said the poor showing of his conservative coalition was a result of "unpopular but necessary reforms." A third of the 81 seats in the parliament's upper house were up also for grabs in the voting, but no candidate reached the 50 percent threshold to win outright and the top-two finishers face a runoff next week.
