1993 Czech presidential election

Indirect presidential elections were held in the Czech Republic on 26 January 1993 to elect the first president of the newly independent country. The president was elected by the members of the Czech Republic Parliament, with Václav Havel emerging as the winner.[1][2] The election was complicated only by attacks of Republicans against Havel and by bomb threat to the Parliament.[3]

1993 Czech presidential election

26 January 1993

Nominee Václav Havel Marie Stiborová Miroslav Sládek Party Independent KSČM SPR–RSČ Electoral vote 109 49 14 Percentage 54.5% 24.5% 7.0% Nominators ODS, KDU–ČSL, ODA KSČM, SDL

Elected President Václav Havel Independent

Candidates

• Václav Havel - former president of Czechoslovakia and a candidate of governing coalition (ODS, KDU–ČSL and ODA).
• Marie Stiborová - leader of the Left Bloc (coalition of parties KSČM and SDL).
• Miroslav Sládek - leader of SPR–RSČ.

Opinion polls

Date	Agency	Václav Havel	Miroslav Sládek	Someone else	Undecided	None
November 1992	IVVM	25.7	1.6	38.4	25.8	8.5
Source: Nesstar

Parties in parliament

Party		Chamber of Deputies	Endorsed candidate
	Civic Democratic Party (ODS)	66 / 200	Václav Havel
	Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSČM)	33 / 200	Marie Stiborová
	Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD)	16 / 200
	Christian and Democratic Union – Czechoslovak People's Party (KDU–ČSL)	15 / 200	Václav Havel
	Rally for the Republic – Republican Party of Czechoslovakia (SPR–RSČ)	14 / 200	Miroslav Sládek
	Civic Democratic Alliance (ODA)	14 / 200	Václav Havel
	Movement for Autonomous Democracy–Party for Moravia and Silesia (HSD–SMS)	14 / 200
	Christian Democratic Party (KDS)	10 / 200	Václav Havel
	Agrarian Party (ZS)	8 / 200
	Czechoslovak Socialist Party (ČSS)	5 / 200
	Green Party (SZ)	3 / 200
	Party of the Democratic Left (SDL)	2 / 200	Marie Stiborová

Results

All 200 Members of Parliament voted. Six of them submitted invalid ballots while 22 submitted empty ballots. Havel received 109 votes and thus won the election in the first round. Communist candidate Stiborová received only 49 votes and Republican candidate Sládek only 14 votes. This is the only presidential election in which the president was voted and elected only by Chamber of Deputies.[4] Havel received 109 votes. It was expected that Havel will receive much more votes because governing coalition had 105 votes and part of opposition promised support to Havel. It is very likely that he didn't receive some votes from Civic Democrats and Christian Democrats (from KDS). Havel was inaugurated on 2 February 1993 and became the first president of the Czech Republic.[5]

Candidate	Votes	%
Václav Havel	109	63.37
Marie Stiborová	49	28.49
Miroslav Sládek	14	8.14
Blank ballots	22	–
Invalid votes	6	–
Total	200	100

References

1. "Prezidentská volba tajná ci verejná". Vlada.cz. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
2. "Naši prezidenti - Haló noviny". www.halonoviny.cz. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
3. "Největší skandály prezidentských voleb". Ahaonline.cz. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
4. "1992 a 1993 - Volba prezidenta 2008 (Ceský rozhlas)". www.rozhlas.cz. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
5. Lutišan, Vojtěch. VOLBA PREZIDENTA REPUBLIKY V ČESKÉ REPUBLICE. Brno: Masaryk University. pp. 21–22.