Brno, Jan 6 (CTK) – Deputy Olga Richterova was elected Czech Pirates’ first deputy chairwoman by their national forum on Saturday, and the posts of other chairpersons went to MPs Radek Holomcik and Mikulas Peksa, and Pirate deputies’ group chairman Jakub Michalek.
Richterova and Holomcik are newcomers to the party board, replacing Martin Smid and Vojtech Pikal, who did not seek re-election and the latter of whom gained the post of the Chamber of Deputies’ deputy chairman a couple of weeks ago.
Richterova was elected by 198 out of the 276 votes cast in the second round of the election.
Holomcik received 162 votes and Michalek and Peska 152 and 136, respectively.
Earlier on Saturday, the forum re-elected Ivan Bartos Pirate chairman. Bartos faced no rival in the vote.
All members of the party board were elected for two years.
The unsuccessful candidates for deputy chairpersons were MP Petr Tresnak, Altar publisher’s house director Martin Kucera, InAverz medical NGO director Zdenek Hrib and university teacher Giuseppe Maiello.
“Changes are ahead of us. Our rank-and-file has increased, but we still remain a party with quite meagre membership. I hope we will continue pulling together for our own benefit in the form of the results of the next general election,” Michalek said.
The Pirates entered the Chamber of Deputies for the first time in last October’s general election, in which they finished third and gained 22 seats in the 200-seat lower house of parliament.
Holomcik said the Pirates voting result on Saturday is a message for him that the Pirates want to intensify their operation in the countryside.
Peksa said his re-election confirmed that the Pirates’ pro-European course continues to be valid.
