Prague  - The lower house of the Czech parliament on Friday changed the country's constitution with the aim of quickly triggering a snap general election, possibly as soon as November.

The house amended the constitution a day after the nation's Constitutional Court threw out an early poll that had been set for October 9-10.

The Brno-based court ruled that a one-off law, which enabled the cancelled October vote by shortening the legislature's four-year term, was unconstitutional.

In order to hold a snap poll as soon as possible, lawmakers introduced a fast track to early elections in a 149-8 vote, which required a majority of 120 lawmakers in the
200-seat house.

Under the approved amendment, the president would have to dissolve the lower house if 120 of its 200 lawmakers vote for it.

The upper house is set to take up the bill later Friday. The president, who does not have a right to veto such legislation, is then expected to ink the amendment without delay.

If the voting proceeds as the main rival political parties agree, the lower house could be dissolved next week and voters could cast ballots as soon as November 6-7.

The plan also required an amendment of the nation's election law, which allows the president to call for a snap vote 50 days after dissolving the chamber. The lower house approved the bill 145-4 on Friday.

The constitutional amendment however could be also attacked in the top court, critics said, citing the Thursday verdict.

Political leaders agreed to hold the cancelled October poll after former premier Mirek Topolanek's centre-right government collapsed in March, midway through the country's half-year term at the helm of the European Union. His cabinet should have been in power until June 2010.

Since May 8, the Czech Republic has been ruled by Prime Minister Jan Fischer's technocrat caretaker cabinet.(dpa)