Ardent Putin fan heads for Czech presidential runoff
Czech President Milos Zeman is being challenged by pro-European Jiri Drahos, a 68-year-old chemistry professor
Czech President Milos Zeman is heading into a runoff against a pro-European challenger in a ballot that’s become a public reckoning of a veteran politician who’s thrown his support behind Russian leader Vladimir Putin and mobilised voters with anti-migrant rhetoric.
Zeman, 73, had 39% with nearly all districts counted after the first round of voting on Saturday. The former prime minister and parliamentary speaker will face Jiri Drahos, a 68-year-old chemistry professor and past head of the Czech Academy of Sciences in a head-to-head contest on 26-27 January. Drahos won 27%, far ahead of the next challenger, according to results published by the statistics office.
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