Presidential election in the Czech Republic 2018

Result of the runoff election
51.36%	48.63%
Miloš Zeman	Jiří Drahoš

The first round of the second direct presidential election in the Czech Republic took place on January 12 and 13, 2018. Since none of the nine candidates received an absolute majority of the votes cast in the first ballot, a run-off election was held on January 26 and 27, 2018 between the two best-placed candidates, the incumbent President Miloš Zeman (38.56%) and the non-party Jiří Drahoš ( 26.6%).

In the second round of the election, Zeman prevailed with 51.36% of the valid votes against his opponent Drahoš.

prehistory

In 2013, the Czech President was elected directly by the people for the first time. Previously, this was always done indirectly. Miloš Zeman, a former social democrat and chairman and founder of the center-left party SPOZ , emerged victorious from the 2013 presidential election . His liberal-conservative opponent was the then Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg .

Candidates

In order to be allowed to vote, candidates had to submit supporting signatures from 50,000 eligible voters, 20 members of the House of Representatives or ten senators and be at least 40 years old by the 66th day before the election .

The incumbent president's challengers were mainly non-party candidates, with a total of nine candidates in the first round. None of the parties represented in the House of Representatives presented their own candidate.

Ballot

Vote count on January 13, 2018

No.	Surname		Political party	Supporting parties	activity
1		Mirek Topolánek	independent	ODS	former Prime Minister (2006–2009)
2		Michal Horáček	independent		Author, music producer
3		Pavel Fischer	independent		former ambassador to France and political advisor
4th		Jiří Hynek	Realisté		Chairman of the Czech Association of Arms and Defense Industries
5		Petr Hannig	Rozumní	ND	trained blacksmith, music producer and chairman of the Rozumní
6th		Vratislav Kulhánek	ODA		Former manager at Škoda Auto , former chairman of the Czech Ice Hockey Association (2004–2008)
7th		Miloš Zeman	SPO	SPO, SPD	Acting President
8th		Marek Hilšer	independent		Doctor and university professor
9		Jiří Drahoš	independent	KDU-ČSL , STAN	physical chemist and chairman of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (2009-2017)

Survey

In the opinion polls at the end of 2017 and the beginning of 2018, the re-running incumbent President Miloš Zeman was continuously in the lead, followed by Jiří Drahoš, who was independent but supported by several opposition parties.

Result

1st ballot

In the first ballot, Miloš Zeman was in the lead nationwide in all districts with the exception of the capital region of Prague and received a total of 38.56 percent of the votes. In Prague and the surrounding area, Jiří Drahoš won the most votes and came in second place nationwide with 26.60 percent. The majority of the Czechs abroad also voted for Drahoš. Third place was Pavel Fischer with 10.23 percent. The runoff vote between the two top winners was scheduled for January 26th and 27th.

Although the percentage of votes between Zeman and Drahoš seemed considerable at around 12 percent, observers still expected a head-to-head race in the second round, as all the other unsuccessful seven candidates called for votes for Drahoš in the second round. Even before the first round of elections, all eight candidates running against Zeman had agreed to jointly support Zeman's opponent in the likely runoff election - regardless of who it would be.

Result of the first ballot
38.56%	26.60%	10.23%	9.18%	8.83%	4.30%	2.26%
Miloš Zeman	Jiří Drahoš	Pavel Fischer	Michal Horáček	Marek Hilšer	Mirek Topolánek	Other

First ballot
Majorities by constituency:

Miloš Zeman

Jiří Drahoš

Result of the 1st ballot of the 2018 presidential election in the Czech Republic

candidate	Political party	1st ballot
		be right	%
Miloš Zeman	SPO	1,985,547	38.56
Jiří Drahoš	independent	1,369,601	26.60
Pavel Fischer	independent	526.694	10.23
Michal Horáček	independent	472,643	9.18
Marek Hilšer	independent	454.949	8.83
Mirek Topolánek	independent	221,689	4.30
Jiří Hynek	Realisté	63,348	1.23
Petr Hannig	Rozumní	29,228	0.56
Vratislav Kulhánek	ODA	24,442	0.47
total		5,148,141	100.00
Valid votes		5,148,141	99.44
Invalid votes		29.097	0.56
voter turnout		5,177,238	61.92
Registered voters		8,366,433	-
Source: Czech Statistical Office

2nd ballot

Since no candidate achieved an absolute majority of the votes, the runoff election between the two best-placed Zeman and Drahoš took place on January 26th and 27th, 2018. Various surveys in the Czech Republic showed a head-to-head race between the two candidates in the second ballot. However, the majority predicted a victory for Drahoš. The two candidates met in two TV confrontations , once on the private broadcaster Prima and once on the public television channel ČT . Zeman won the runoff election with 51.36% of the valid vote.

Second ballot
majorities according to constituencies:

Miloš Zeman

Jiří Drahoš

Result of the 2nd ballot of the 2018 presidential election in the Czech Republic

candidate	Political party	2nd ballot
		be right	%
Miloš Zeman	SPO	2,853,390	51.36
Jiří Drahoš	independent	2,701,206	48.63
total		5,554,596	100.00
Valid votes		5,554,596	99.77
Invalid votes		13,031	0.23
voter turnout		5,567,627	66.60
Registered voters		8,363,002	-
Source: Czech Statistical Office

Individual evidence

1. ↑ idnes.cz: Výsledky voleb v České republice. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
2. ↑ Information on the conditions for candidacy - website of the Czech Ministry of Interior
3. ↑ Czech Statistical Office: Official election results of the 2018 presidential elections. Accessed January 27, 2018 . 
4. ↑ Prezidentské volby 2018 - E15.cz. Retrieved December 19, 2017 (Czech). 
5. ↑ Kandidáti na prezidenta České republiky ve Volbach 2018 - E15.cz . In: Zprávy E15.cz . (Czech, e15.cz [accessed January 10, 2018]).
6. ↑ SPO podporuje v prezidentských volbách Miloše Zemana. Parlamentní Listy, accessed January 2, 2018 (Czech). 
7. ↑ SPD nepřímo podpořila Zemana. Hnutí se vyslovilo pro přesun ambasády do Jeruzaléma. Euro.cz, December 9, 2017, accessed December 10, 2017 (in Czech). 
8. ↑ V druhém kole prezidentské volby by Drahoš porazil Zemana. Získal by 51 procent hlasů, současný prezident 49, ukázal průzkum Medianu. Hospodářské noviny, November 7, 2017, accessed December 28, 2017 (Czech). 
9. ↑ Rána per Hrad: Drahoš by ve druhém kole prezidentské volby Zemana porazil, ukázal průzkum. EuroZprávy.cz, accessed December 28, 2017 (Czech). 
10. ↑ Průzkum per ČT: Zemana by nyní volilo 43.5 procenta lidí. Druhý Drahoš oslovil 28.5 percent voličů. Czech TV ČT24, accessed January 6, 2018 (Czech). 
11. ^ Runoff election in the battle for Prague Castle. Prager Zeitung , January 13, 2018, accessed January 15, 2018 . 
12. ↑ Exkluzivní volební model: Duel Zemana s Drahošem by měl výsledek 49:51 - Seznam Zprávy. Retrieved January 16, 2018 (Czech). 
13. ↑ Czech Statistical Office: Results of the 2018 presidential elections. Accessed January 27, 2018 .