Czechs elect Zeman’s successor, choose between Pavlo and Babiš
Prague – The second round of presidential elections began in the Czech Republic today. The people are deciding whether the successor of the current head of state, Miloš Zeman, will be the former representative of the Czech army and NATO, Petr Pavel, or the head of the ANO opposition movement and former prime minister, Andrej Babiš. Each of the 8.25 million voters can cast a vote in almost 15,000 polling stations. According to the betting odds, Pavel is the favorite. Today, when the polling stations were open from 14:00 to 22:00, about half of the voters cast their ballots. Both candidates and President Zeman and Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) cast their votes. On Saturday it will be possible to choose from 08:00 to 14:00, the results should be known within a few hours.
Presidential candidates expect the vote to attract a record number of voters. In the first round, the voter turnout was over 68 percent, in the second round, as of this evening, about half of the voters had voted. It was often more than five years ago, and in some districts even more than in the first round, ČTK reporters found out. So far, the interest of people with voter’s cards, who vote in, for example, ski resorts, has been greater than in the first round.
The members of the election commissions and representatives of the authorities that ČTK contacted did not notice any major problems during the elections today. In the village of Děčínsk, however, the polling station had to be moved due to a fire. The Electoral Commission detected the fire at approximately 1:55 p.m., after which it quickly moved to a spare room. Firefighters responded to the scene, and no one was hurt.
The winner of the first round two weeks ago was Pavel, who received 1.98 million votes with the support of 35.4 percent. With the support of 34.99 percent, he surpassed Druhý Babiš by roughly 23,000 votes, which was the closest result in the history of direct presidential elections. Pavla has now recommended voting for, among others, the four unsuccessful candidates from the first round, of which Danuše Nerudová, the former rector of the Mendel University in Brno, and senators Pavel Fischer and Marek Hilšer are participating in his campaign.
Pavel voted after 15:00 today due to the great interest of the media and the public at the municipal office in Černouček in Litoměřick, where he has a permanent residence. He said he expects a high voter turnout, which he says could be higher than in the first, perhaps even a record 70 percent. Over 68 percent of voters voted in the first round. After casting his vote, Pavel said that in his role as head of state, he would like to seek solutions based on cooperation, decency and normal communication, and to represent the country and its citizens with dignity. He urged voters to go to the polls. “It’s a lot,” he told reporters.
According to Babiš, people should go to vote because they are deciding the future of the country. After casting his vote in Průhonice, he told journalists that he hoped for a “huge” turnout, calling the election a referendum on him. Babiš received support from President Zeman and the non-parliamentary KSČM and Trikolora, which did not field a presidential candidate in the first round.
Zeman, who has been at the head of the state since 2013, praised the fact that free elections are being held in the Czech Republic during a vote at an elementary school last year. He indicated that, just like in the first round, he voted for Babiš today. He urged his constituents to do the same. When asked if he already has a plan for handing over the presidency to his successor, he said that there is no such plan yet and there is plenty of time during February.
When casting his vote in Brno, Fiala said that he wants to meet the winner soon, to provide support to Pavlo. He expects a high voter turnout, he believes that the voters were not deterred by the tough, sometimes “really disgusting” campaign. “We saw a very unpleasant election campaign, perhaps the worst in the modern history of the Czech Republic,” he said. According to him, they appeared in response to attacks and questioning of the international obligations of the Czech Republic. According to the prime minister, it was intended to discourage voters, but he believes that it failed.
Today, the presidents of both parliamentary chambers have already voted. The Speaker of the House of Representatives and TOP 09, Markéta Pekarová Adamová, hopes that the situation will calm down after the elections. According to our society, the future president should motivate and, in a positive sense, give courage and everything he needs. She thinks that only one of the two candidates fulfills this, she said after the vote. According to the President of the Senate, Miloš Vystrčil (ODS), not only who wins the election, but also how decisively the decision is made, will have an effect on calming the society.
There is a lot of interest in the elections abroad. According to Ambassador Pavel Klucký, a larger turnout can be expected in Brussels than in the first round two weeks ago. 1,267 Czechs took part in the first round of elections in Brussels, which was a significant increase compared to the last presidential vote in 2018. There is an extraordinary interest in voting in Germany, and the consulates general in Dresden, Düsseldorf and Munich also report a high turnout. After the opening of the polling station, Czechs had to stand in line, for example, at the embassies in Bratislava, Paris or London. The majority stated that they primarily wish for a change in the behavior of Prague Castle. Elections at the embassy in Kyiv are also taking place peacefully.
Czech citizens in North and South America could already vote on Thursday. The reason for earlier voting in America is the need to ensure that the votes can be counted and the results published immediately after the end of voting in the Czech Republic. Today is the second day of voting there.
According to the security company Check Point, some Czech websites related to the presidential elections were again attacked by Russian hackers led by the hacker group NoName057(16). Among other things, Pavel’s website, the Hlídač statu server or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were attacked. The attacks may continue over the weekend, targeting election results websites, the firm said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of ČTK confirmed that its website was the target of an attack, but it did not have a serious impact on data security.
According to betting odds, Pavel is the favorite to win the election, a bet of 9.5 million crowns appeared on his win just before the opening of the polling station. According to the information on the bookmakers’ websites, the odds for Pavlo’s election at noon today were on average 1.07:1 and for Babiš’s victory 9.5:1.
The main results, which will be continuously published by the Czech Statistical Office at the electoral office websitebased on past experience, it should have been known on Saturday within a few hours after the polls closed.