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Almost one and a half years after the last Parliamentary Election, voters in the Czech Republic are called upon to elect a new head of state. Since incumbent Miloš Zeman cannot run again after two terms in office, there will in any case be a new head of house at Prague Castle, which traditionally serves as the residence of the head of state, after the run- off election on 27/28 January 2023. The possibility of a direct election by the people has only existed in the Czech Republic since 2013, so the new incumbent will be only the second directly elected president in Czech history. In the first round of voting, former NATO general Petr Pavel garnered the most votes, but was only just ahead of former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, who left office after the Parliamentary Election 2021. Although he was recently acquitted of charges of EU subsidy fraud, his critics accuse him of intransparent economic interests and a populist and EU- sceptical style. Pavel, on the other hand, is trying to score points with a pro-European, objective and respectful election campaign. In the second round, the most important thing will be how the voters of the six candidates who were elim- inated in the first round will position themselves. In the Czech Republic, the President of the Republic has mainly representative duties, but sometimes occupies a prominent position in the political and social discourse. He can refer laws back to parliament once, appoints ministers and constitutional judges and is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

Which candidates stood for election and who will be the new head of house at Prague Castle? What were the priorities in the election campaign? What are the expectations for the new incumbent? What conclusions can be drawn from the results of the two rounds of voting about the political situation in the country?

The event „The Morning After – Czech Republic has voted” will take place on Monday, 30 January 2023 from 11:00- 11:45 CET via Zoom. We look forward to discussing the election result with our colleague Tomislav Delinić, Director of the KAS Offices in Czech Republic and Slovakia. After the conversation between Mr Delinić and Dr. Hardy Ostry, Director of the European Office of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, the audience will have the opportunity to contribute their questions to the discussion. The event will be held in German with simultaneous interpretation into English.

For registration, please use this LINK.

We look forward to your participation!

Here you will find the program for download: Programm 23-01-30 Tschechien hat gewählt.pdf