Prague, April 16 (CTK) – Some 37 percent of Czechs would vote for current President Milos Zeman if the presidential election were held now, according to a poll conducted by the Median polling institute in early April and released on Sunday.
Lyricist and businessman Michal Horacek would be the runner-up with 20 percent, followed by the former chairman of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Jiri Drahos, with 17 percent.
Voter turnout would be over two-thirds.
Zeman can be expected to be strong in the first round of the election, Median pollster Daniel Prokop said.
“It is mostly so with the candidates defending their posts in Central Europe that they gain at least 35 percent,” Prokop said.
“Interestingly, some 21 percent of Czechs have no idea of whom they would vote for now,” he added.
The rest of the candidates are far behind the first trio. Doctor and activist Marek Hilser is popular with 2 percent, businessman Igor Sladek and former head of the office of prime minister Jiri Rusnok, Karel Stogl, with 1 percent each.
Some 51 percent of Czechs are firmly set to take part in the election, while another 17 percent said they would probably do so. On the other hand, 18 percent are set not to vote.
The elderly and people with higher education tend to be readier to go to the polling stations than the rest.
The poll was conducted on a sample of 1,008 Czechs between April 7 and 10.
The first round of the presidential race will take place on January 19-20 at the latest. The exact date will be declared by the Senate chairman.
