Next Czech presidential election

Presidential elections will be held in the Czech Republic no later than January 2023.[1] The incumbent president Miloš Zeman is not eligible to run for another term. The election will most likely be direct.[2] There has been speculation that Miloš Zeman will not finish his second term.[3][4]

President before election Miloš Zeman SPO Elected President TBD

Background

Before 2018 election

Initial speculation about the 2023 election began after the first direct presidential election in 2013. Political scientist Ladislav Cabada said he expected the new president to be younger than Miloš Zeman when he was elected in 2013. Jiří Dienstbier Jr. was often mentioned as a potential left-wing candidate. Cabada mentioned Petr Fiala as a possible right-wing candidate.[2] There was also speculation that ANO 2011 leader Andrej Babiš might run for president in 2023.[5]

2018 election

At the previous election in January 2018, Miloš Zeman was elected for his second and final term.[6] It has been speculated that the election could be held before his term expires because of Zeman's health.[1] Speculation about possible successors to Zeman started soon after the election, with bookmakers considering Václav Klaus Jr. as the favourite.[7] ANO 2011 leader Andrej Babiš stated that his party would nominate its own candidate for the next election.[8]

Since 2018 election

Since Zeman's victory in 2018, there has been speculation that the next election might be held sooner than 2023 due to Zeman's health.[3]

In summer 2019, the leaders of the opposition Civic Democratic Party, Pirate Party, KDU-ČSL, TOP 09 and Mayors and Independents met to discuss a possible common candidate. The most discussed candidate was Petr Pavel. Other names included Miroslava Němcová and Věra Jourová. The Czech Social Democratic Party was also invited to the meeting but declined as it plans to support Josef Středula.[9] Speculation about Zeman's health was renewed in October 2019 when Zeman went into hospital and talked about his possible successors, noting Josef Středula, Vladimír Dlouhý and Andrej Babiš.[10][11]

Marek Hilšer announced his candidacy on 21 November 2019. He started gathering signatures for his nomination on the same day.[12]

Candidates

Announced

• Pavel Fischer, former ambassador to France, 2018 presidential candidate and Senator. He did not rule out running again.[13] He announced his candidacy on 13 October 2018 after he was elected to the Senate.[14] There was some speculation in the media that he could become the nominee of the Civic Democratic Party if he joined its Senate caucus,[15] but he decided to remain independent.
• Marek Hilšer, Senator and 2018 presidential candidate.[16] He announced his candidacy on 21 November 2019.[17]
• Jiří Paroubek, former Prime Minister and leader of ČSSD. In February 2018, he announced his intention to run for President.[18]
• Jaromír Soukup, businessman and TV presenter. He announced his candidacy on 16 April 2019.[19]
• Martin Uhlíř, political activist. He announced his intention to run on 12 April 2018.[20]

Speculative

• Andrej Babiš, leader of ANO 2011 and Prime Minister of the Czech Republic. There has been speculation that he will run for President.[21][22] He did not rule out standing.[23]
• Otto Chaloupka, former MP, 2018 presidential candidate. After withdrawing from the 2018 election, he said he may run again in 2023.[24]
• Vladimír Dlouhý, Economist and politician. He said that he might run for the office in 2023.[25]
• Jiří Drahoš, former Chairman of the Czech Academy of Sciences and 2018 presidential candidate. Following his defeat in 2018 election, he said that he might run in the next election.[26] He later stated that he would only run again if the election was held sooner than 2023.[27]
• Dominik Hašek, former ice hockey goaltender in the NHL, two-time Stanley Cup champion and 1998 Olympic champion. He did not rule out standing.[28]
• Michal Horáček, 2018 presidential candidate. He stated that he will run again if Tomio Okamura is the front-runner.[29]
• Ladislav Jakl, 2013 presidential candidate and secretary for political affairs under President Václav Klaus. He mentioned his possible candidacy on 23 August 2018.[30]
• Věra Jourová, member of European Commission and ANO 2011 politician.[9]
• Jiří Kajínek, convicted murderer and thief pardoned by Miloš Zeman. He announced his intention to run for president on 15 February 2018.[31][32]
• Michael Kocáb, former Minister, is considering running.[33]
• Petr Pavel, army officer who served as Chairman of the NATO Military Committee from 2015 to 2018 and Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Army from 2012 to 2015. There has been speculation about his candidacy due to his public statements about the incumbent President Miloš Zeman.[34]
• Miroslava Němcová, ODS MP. Zeman's opponents called for her to stand after Zeman's inauguration in 2018.[35][9]
• Tomio Okamura, leader of SPD. Mentioned as a possible candidate.[1]
• Bohuslav Sobotka, former Czech Prime Minister and ČSSD politician.[36]
• Josef Středula, President of the Bohemian-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions, has not ruled out standing.[37] Leader of the Czech Social Democratic Party Jan Hamáček stated that Středula would be a significant left-wing candidadate.[38] The Social Democratic Party confirmed that it will nominate him.[9]
• Miloš Vystrčil, ODS Senator and the President of the Senate. Calls for him to run started in June 2020 after he announced his decision to visit Taiwan.[39]
• Jan Zahradil, ODS MEP and European Conservatives and Reformists Spitzenkandidat for the 2019 European Parliament election. He mentioned the possibility of running for president on 14 May 2019.[40]
• Tomáš Zdechovský, Member of the European Parliament for KDU-ČSL, announced that he had always wanted to be president since his childhood.[41]
• Kateřina Valachová, ČSSD MP

Declined

• Václav Klaus Jr., MP. Following the 2018 presidential election, bookmakers considered him the favourite to be president,[7] and he did not rule out becoming a candidate.[42] Political scientists such as Jan Kubáček said they believed that Klaus was planning to run for the presidency.[43] He ruled out his candidacy during an interview for Seznam Zprávy.[44]

Opinion polls

Date	Agency	Andrej Babiš	Marek Eben	Jiří Drahoš	Petr Pavel	Marek Hilšer	Václav Klaus Jr.	Pavel Rychetský	Miroslava Němcová	Pavel Fischer	Dana Drábová	Lenka Bradáčová	Miloš Vystrčil	Tomio Okamura
26 October 2020	STEM/Mark[45]	9.0	11.0	10.0	11.0	8.0	N/A	N/A	9.0	10.0	5.0	N/A	7.0	6.0
5 May 2020	STEM/Mark[46]	15.0	14.0	11.0	12.0	11.0	7.0	N/A	8.0	13.0	N/A	8.0	N/A	N/A
14 November 2019	STEM/Mark[47][48]	17.0	16.0	16.0	13.0	12.0	12.0	11.0	11.0	10.0	9.0	N/A	N/A	N/A

Prediction of who will win in 2023

Date	Agency	Jiří Dienstbier	Andrej Babiš	Tomio Okamura	Miroslava Němcová	Bohuslav Sobotka	Václav Klaus	Václav Klaus Jr.	Pavel Fischer	Jiří Drahoš
24 December 2018	Betting Agencies[49]	N/A	10.0	8.0	N/A	N/A	20.0	15.0	6.0	4.0
3 December 2013	Czech Radio[50]	15.0	8.6	7.0	4.5	3.8	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

References

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