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2018-01-15 09:45
Bloomberg

Russia, EU Ties Take Spotlight in Czech Presidential Runoff

Current head of state and candidate at the presidential elections Milos Zeman (on the right) at a polling station in Prague. The Czech Republic holds the first round of direct presidential elections. Alexey Vitvitsky/Sputnik
Current head of state and candidate at the presidential elections Milos Zeman (on the right) at a polling station in Prague. The Czech Republic holds the first round of direct presidential elections. Alexey Vitvitsky/Sputnik
Czechs will decide in a runoff presidential election whether pro-Russian incumbent Milos Zeman keeps his post for five more years or is ousted by a pro-European Union professor who‘s won endorsements from candidates who tumbled out in the first round.

Zeman, a veteran politician who supports Russian leader Vladimir Putin and was one of early backers of U.S. President Donald Trump, won the initial stage of balloting on Friday and Saturday with 39 percent. He‘ll face Jiri Drahos, a 68-year-old former head of the Czech Academy of Sciences in a Jan. 26-27 head-to-head contest. Drahos won 27 percent, far ahead of the next challenger.

The election has become a public reckoning of Zeman‘s approach after he used what he calls a „creative interpretation“ of the constitution to carve out a stronger role for the presidency. While the post‘s powers are limited and most executive policies lie with the government, the head of state has an influential voice in public debate and appoints prime ministers and central bankers.

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