January 11 2018, 14:05
- Election Day is scheduled for January 12-13. If none of the candidates wins a majority of the votes, the top two will head to a second round set for January 26-27.
- This will be the second direct presidential election in the history of the Czech Republic. From 1918 until 2013 the head of state was elected by the Parliament.
- Incumbent president Miloš Zeman is seeking reelection. He will face eight other candidates. Zeman is the former Prime Minister of the Czech Republic and became in 2013 the first President of the Czech Republic to be elected in direct elections.
- 9 candidates will be vying for the presidency. In order to run for President in Czech Republic, a candidate must gather at least 50,000 signatures from the general public, 20 signatures from members of the Chamber of Deputies or 10 signatures from Senators.
- Some 8.3 million voters are eligible to participate in the elections. In Czech Republic there is no centralized voter register. Municipal offices are responsible for maintaining, updating and organizing the voter database.
- The administration of elections in Czech Republic is highly decentralized. Not one, but several state institutions, local governments, and local election commissions share responsibilities in managing the process. The State Election Commission (SEC) is a permanent body in charge of coordinating the overall organization of elections and the Ministry of Interior is responsible for technical preparations.
- In 2017 the term “elections” (volby) was extremely popular in Google searches. According to Google’s own annual search statistics, the term elections was a trending topic in Czech Republic. Interest peaked in mid-October. “Who will win the election” topped the who category and “how to vote” was third in the how-to category.
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