Czech Prime Minister Stanislav Gross on Saturday was re-elected as chairman of the ruling Social Democrats.

Gross won the chairmanship with 291 votes from all the 552 party delegates at the party's conference held in Brno, 200 km southeast of the capital, while his competitor, Zdenek Skromach, the country's first deputy prime minister, received 203 votes.

Gross's election is likely to deprive his party of the majorityin the parliament as the party's coalition partners, the ChristianDemocrats, has demanded Gross's resignation as the cabinet chief or early elections due to his alleged involvement in a financial scandal.

"Our position remains the same" that "we want the prime minister to resign," spokesman for the Christian Democrats Ondrej Jakob said after the ballots.

The Liberal Party, also a coalition partner of the Social Democrats, has yet to make an official reaction, but it had earlier indicated the possibility of leaving the coalition.

Gross, 35, the youngest cabinet leader in EU's member-states, has been criticized by his coalition partners after purchasing an apartment with his wife without entirely disclosing his financial assets. His wife was also accused of dealing with people suspectedof fraud and money laundering.

Source: Xinhua