Prague, Sept 22 (CTK) – The extra-parliamentary Pirate Party won in eight of the 14 Czech regions in the simulated regional elections that took place at secondary schools all over the country earlier this week, their organiser, the People in Need group, announced yesterday.
The ANO movement of Finance Minister Andrej Babis won in three regions, the right-wing opposition TOP 09 won in Prague, the populist Freedom and Direct Democracy in the Zlin Region, and the local grouping PRO Health and Sport in the Karlovy Vary Region.
The regional elections will be held on October 7-8. They will take place in 13 regions, but not in Prague, although the capital city has the status of a region.
People in Need has been organising the simulated student elections since 2010 in order to motivate young people to be interested in politics.
In the simulated regional elections, 31,867 students aged over 15 from 254 schools participated.
The Pirates won in Central Bohemia, South Bohemia and the Plzen, Liberec and Vysocina regions. In alliance with the Greens, they also won in the Usti Region, the Hradec Kralove Region and South Moravia.
ANO won in the Pardubice, Olomouc and Moravia-Silesia regions.
ANO was the only party that would win seats in the authorities in all 13 regions and Prague. The Pirates and the TOP 09 failed to win the seats only in one region.
Freedom and Direct Democracy of Tomio Okamura and the alliance of the far-right Block against Islamisation and Dawn won seats in most regional authorities. Other groupings opposing immigrants succeeded in the simulated elections, too.
The Social Democrats (CSSD) of Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka and the junior ruling Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) would won seats in four regions each.
The results of the students voting are usually very different from the official elections.
In the simulated general election in 2013, TOP 09 scored victory, closely followed by the Pirates. Students preferred artist Vladimir Franz as the president of the country.
