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Presidential elections will be held in the Czech Republic in 2018, the second time the president has been elected directly. Incumbent president Miloš Zeman is eligible to run for a second term.
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Background
Miloš Zeman was elected the President of the Czech Republic in 2013, the first direct presidential elections in the country. Zeman plans to announce whether he will run for re-election in March 2017. According to polls conducted in 2016, Zeman is the front-runner and his chances of re-election are considered high if he decides to run. Zeman's candidature will probably be determined by his health.
Zdeněk Škromach was the first candidate to announce his candidature, in 2015. In response, Tomáš Halík announced that he will run for president if Škromach does. This led former president Václav Klaus to announce that he would run against Halík if he was running without a strong rival. Halík later decided not to run.
Former Czech minister Michael Kocáb issued the "Kroměříž Proclamation" which aims to find a strong candidate to run against Zeman. Kocáb suggested Michal Horáček, who declined the movement's support but did not rule out running. Horáček mentioned his possible candidacy in April 2016 and some polls indicated that he would be the strongest possible contender to Zeman. Horáček oficially announced his candidature on 3 November 2016 and launched his campaign on the same day.
Campaign
Marek Hilšer started his campaign in July 2016. His slogan is: "Marek to the Castle." He wants to finance his presidential campaign through a transparent account. Hilšer has negative opinions of Russia and China. He also says that he supports helping immigrants.
Michal Horáček officially launched his campaign on 3 November 2016. A week earlier he had moderated a meeting at Old Town Square. This meeting was considered to be the actual start of the campaign as it was meant to coincide with official celebrations of Czech Statehood Day. Horáček stated that he wants his campaign to be based on respect for all people and their opinions. He also stated that he believes he can win in the first round. TOP 09, STAN and KDU-ČSL parties considered supporting Horáček before his campaign started, but TOP 09 and STAN decided to support an alternative candidate. Horáček also entered into a conflict with TOP 09.
It was reported in January 2017 that Czech political parties had decided to cease preparations for the election until Miloš Zeman announced whether he was seeking re-election. Zeman discussed his possible candidacy with his close colleague on 31 January. One of them stated that Zeman is likely to run for re-election. Zeman will announce his decision on 9 March 2017.
On 9 February 2017 Horáček announced his team of his advisors, including Magda Vášáryová, Dana Drábová and Pavel Pefko. Miloš Zeman commented on Horáček's team that: "Michal Horáček never says what he thinks. His advisors will talk instead of him." Miloš Zeman attended the SPO Congress on 11 February 2017, at which SPO leader Jan Veleba assured Zeman that the party will support his reelection campaign if he decides to run. Zeman visited hospital for a preventive examination after the congress.