Czech voters are heading to the polls to elect their new president in the second round of the presidential elections. Opinion polls seems to be largely in favour of independent candidate Petr Pavel, a former general who led NATO military committee from 2015 to 2018.
The second round is scheduled for January 27 and 28 and will see Pavel running against former prime minister Andrej Babis. In the first round Pavel passed Babis with a razor-thin margin, 35.40% versus 34.99%. Babis has been prime minister of the country from 2017 to 2021. He is a businessman with companies in agriculture, chemicals and media sectors.
Currently, opinion polls are all tilting heavily towards Pavel. STEM pinned him with a support of 57.6% against Babis’ 42.4%, while Kantar polled Pavel at 53%, Babis at 38%, with 9% of voters still undecided.
The role of president in Czech Republic has limited powers but can influence the government and appoints crucial figures like central bankers and judges. The term is for five years, and the president can be re-elected once.
Pavel run promising a less confrontational style compared to current president Milos Zeman, who was a public supporter of Vladimir Putin and often clashed with governments. His opponent Babis during the campaign said that he wanted to counterbalance the current centre-right coalition government led by Petr Fiala.
The winner of next weekend’s election will be the fourth president of Czech Republic, 29 years after the country was created after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia.
