The first day of elections in and around Prague: many voters, Babiš was also among the first
Clear in advance
Former Czech and English teacher Jitka Malcová from Jižní Město will also make her way to the polling station. “I will definitely go to vote, but my daughter and I had to reorganize it because I forgot my voting cards at home. The grandson was also crying that he wanted to go vote with his mother, so they would go together,” Malcová describes, adding that she always voted, even for the communists. “The voice was also important then, but the choice was terrible,” he smiles. She already knew who she would vote for. She remembered the actions of General Pavel when he organized the rescue of the French soldiers.
The other two voters, who are currently heading in the direction of the elementary school, did not pay attention to the progress of the pre-election campaigns and the debate. They have already cast their vote, although they had to wait a while. Before three o’clock in the afternoon, there were also quite a few interested people in ZŠ K Milíčov who wanted to have the choice over with. “We go to all the elections. We were clear from the beginning. Pre-election debates came to us as farce and injustice. All the candidates were never there at once,” say Věra and Josef.
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Voter turnout in presidential elections is usually higher than in municipal elections. In 2018, during the second presidential election in history, over 67.5 percent cast their votes directly in the capital. In the second round, 71.2 percent of valid voters came. For comparison, in last year’s municipal elections, only less than 44 percent of Prague citizens went to the polls. Current President Miloš Zeman’s second term will end on March 8 this year.
For those who cannot go to the polls themselves, the previous staff will arrive with a ballot box. Elections also took place in hospitals on Friday “About a hundred hospitalized patients showed interest in throwing a ballot with the chosen candidate into the ballot box,” Bulovka Hospital said.
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In Průhonice in the Praha-západ district just after 2 p.m., they voted together with their wife Monika and children Vivien and Frederik Andrej Babiš. “I would consider it a success if I made it to the second round,” he told reporters.
Voter turnout in Prague was around 20 percent on Friday after 6 p.m. The most in Prague 8 (30 percent) and in Prague 3 (22 percent).
Bets on the arrival of the commission
Some districts are trying to ease the difficult election period. “Employees of Devítka place bets on what time the first member of the commission will arrive at the town hall with the result of the tallied votes. The last winner scored almost exactly – she missed by just five minutes,” said Prague 9, which is divided into 42 electoral districts. Most polling stations are in primary schools. Other rooms are, for example, in the Gong Theater, the Prosek Polyclinic, the Klíčov Youth Center or in Gallery 9 in the historic building of the Vysočan Town Hall.
Interest in voting from the car was minimal among those infected with covid
The largest number of precincts, over a hundred, are traditionally in Prague 10, Prague 8 and Prague 6. There are even over 130 electoral commissions working in the most populous Prague 4. Least of all in the rural parts of the city, for example Benice, Lipenice, Újezd or Křeslice.
People in isolation or quarantine could already vote on Wednesday. The city built several drive-in polling stations for them. In the end, only a few voters took advantage of this option. The largest number, i.e. 15, voted in Písnice, 13 in Letná, 7 in Dubč, 6 in Stodůlky and 5 in Satalice.
Ma’am, please wait until there is a lot available
Despite the heavy rain that started right after the opening of the polling station, no one was supposed to cast their vote. “Mr. Středula, who has resigned, is also among the ballots,” added a member of the electoral commission at Hájy to avoid confusion.
In just one of the classes at K Milíčov Elementary School in Prague’s South Town, five people enter the room at once. They are mostly pensioners. “Ma’am, please wait until there is a lot free,” another member of the committee does not demand of the impatient voter who puts the ballot in the envelope right in front of the committee. “Then I won’t show it to you,” replies the voter with a smile and joins the queue waiting for one of the two screens to be released.