Free beer! For proof that you didn’t vote for Babiš. They launched a bribery campaign in Prague
For some beer voters, exchanging their ballot for the most popular hop drink of the Czechs can undoubtedly be a very tempting offer. And more than one Czech pub owner is obviously well aware of this. Before the second round of the presidential election, where Petr Pavel and Andrej Babiš will face each other, with whom the Czech pub offers internet only swarms.
“Come with the voting card of the Babiš oligarchy and in return for the ticket you will receive a free pint of Prazdroje!” beckons Pilsen, for example SPORT BAR Čapovka.
Other businesses increase the offer of the entire menu to motivate voters to cast a ballot for Andrej Babiš: “Whoever brings Mr. Babiš’s ballot will get one free drink for lunch,” promises Restaurace Maxík in Plavy.
The operator of a restaurant in Kutná Hora, Roman Schejbal, came up with a similar proposal: “Dear customers, those who bring a Bureš ballot to the restaurant u Laudon in Bečváry or the restaurant u Lípa in Suchdol during Friday and Saturday will receive one eleven-degree beer for free,” he announced via social network Twitter.
Dear customers, who brings a Bureš ballot to the restaurant u Laudon in Bečváry or the restaurant u Lípa in Suchdol during Friday and Saturday, will receive one free eleven-degree beer. ????????
— Roman Schejbal (@roman_schejbal) January 25, 2023
The Sklep restaurant in Žižkov also got involved, serving voters a shot of alcohol for Babiš’s ballot. “Although we don’t normally comment on politics, we now feel the need to support the presidential elections, specifically their candidate, Petr Pavel. For the future of us all, please vote according to your best knowledge and conscience. If you decide for the candidate Petr Pavel and bring us an AB ballot, you will receive a free shot of Capitan Bucanero Elixir rum from us. The event is valid from 2 p.m. tomorrow until Saturday evening,” says the Prague restaurant.
Guests of Hanspaul’s bar U Hřebíka, who hand in their ballot to Babiš, also participate in a competition for a 300-crown voucher. “On Friday-Sunday, for every yellow ballot of the 2nd round of elections with the name Andrej Babiš, you will get one 11° beer for free. And if you also write your name, year of birth and contact information on the back, we will draw one person on Monday, January 30, 2023, who will receive a voucher for 300 crowns in our refreshment room. So are we going to count beer in pieces or in barrels?” reads the posted flyer with the inscription “Free beer for Andrej Babiš’s election ticket!”
In the discussions, there were often comments such as that the pubs will probably be “crowded” today, or questions about whether the guest will receive double the amount of beer and food for the tickets handed in by the “intelligencer Pavel”.
Jakub Kuneš, a student who became famous for his dispute with NF VŠE dean Miroslav Ševčík, came up with another idea of what could be extracted from the unused ballot of Andrej Babiš. He turned the ticket into, for example, a ticket to the world of culture, sports or public transport: “I suggest that next weekend the unused election ticket with Andrej Babiš becomes a ticket to the theater, to a sports match and even as a public transport ticket,” Kuneš.
I propose that next weekend the unused election ticket with Andrej Babiš becomes a ticket to the theater, to a sports match and even as a public transport ticket
— Jakub Kuneš (@studentzvesnice) January 20, 2023
Pubs were already offering free beer for the election ticket of the opponent Petr Pavel before this year’s first round of presidential elections, which took place on January 13 and 14, in which General Pavel won. “We have an event next Friday and Saturday! Everyone gets a free beer for Andrej Babiš’s voting ticket!” said Hospoda Na Trati in Křenovice, which, however, decided not to repeat the event on the second election weekend. “Let everyone choose who they want,” she said, adding that her choice was Pavel.
This event may slowly become a tradition within the framework of the presidential elections. Similar offers were flying around the internet even when Miloš Zeman and Karl Schwarzenberg were fighting for the Castle, for example, cafes offered free coffee for Zeman’s ballot, who eventually won the election and thus became the first head of state elected in the first direct presidential election in history.
This is the umpteenth cafe where you get free coffee for Miloš Zeman’s election ticket… Nice 🙂
— Jakub Novacek (@JakubNovacek) January 25, 2013
It is worth reminding that, compared to the first round, when voters found ballots in mailboxes, they will now only receive them at the polling station. That’s because the law allows candidates to withdraw up to 24 hours before the election begins. In the second round, the ballots are yellow, not white as in the first. If someone uses a ticket from the first round, it is void.
If the entire ballot was torn, it is not valid, if it was only torn, then yes, it is valid even if there are messages or doodles on it, but the name on the ticket is still legible.
It is also important to know that a ticket inserted in an envelope is thrown into the ballot box, if it were without it, the vote automatically becomes invalid. Such mistakes were made ten years ago during the first election of the head of state by the then direct presidential candidate Karel Schwarzenberg.
Today and Saturday, Czech voters will decide whether Petr Pavel, a former representative of the Czech army and NATO, or Andrej Babiš, chairman of the ANO movement and former prime minister, will become the fourth Czech president. People will receive tickets for the second round of the election at the polling station before voting.
Pavel won the first round two weeks ago thanks to 1.98 million votes, Babiš was ahead of him by about 23,000 votes.
Voting will be held today from 14:00 to 22:00 and on Saturday from 08:00 to 14:00. Electoral commissioners will then begin counting the votes in each of the 14,866 precincts. The main results, which will be continuously published by the Czech Statistical Office at the electoral office website, based on past experience, it should have been known within a few hours after the polls closed.
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author: nab