Prague, Dec 13 (CTK) – Former Academy of Sciences head Jiri Drahos won the simulated Czech student presidential election, organised by the People in Need NGO for all types of secondary schools and held on Tuesday and Wednesday, with 33.6 percent of the vote, the organisers told CTK on Wednesday.
Drahos was followed by current President Milos Zeman, who gained almost 20 percent of the vote, and physician Marek Hilser with 13.2 percent of the vote.
A total of 43,559 secondary school students out of 384 schools participated in the poll.
The students were choosing the president out of the nine candidates whose applications for the presidential election were approved by the Interior Ministry.
Former ambassador to France Pavel Fischer ranked fourth with 9.6 percent, followed by businessman and lyricist Michal Horacek with 9.3 percent of the vote.
Former PM Mirek Topolanek received 6.3 percent of the vote, while Jiri Hynek, head of the Czech Defence and Security Industry Association, received 3 percent of the students’ votes.
Musician Petr Hannig and former Skoda Auto company board chairman Vratislav Kulhanek received 2.7 and 2.4 percent of the vote respectively.
Out of the total of 397 participating schools, there were 171 grammar schools and 213 vocational schools. All students over 15 were eligible, while the legal age for the participation in elections is 18.
The purpose of the elections was to stimulate active and responsible citizenship of the future first-time voters.
Outcome of student presidential election:
Order Name of candidate Total of votes In percent
1. Jiri Drahos 14,630 33.59
2. Milos Zeman 8689 19.95
3. Marek Hilser 5764 13.23
4. Pavel Fischer 4169 9.57
5. Michal Horacek 4035 9.26
6. Mirek Topolanek 2723 6.25
7. Jiri Hynek 1323 3.04
8. Petr Hannig 1186 2.72
9. Vratislav Kulhanek 1040 2.39
Source: People in Need
