Prague, Aug 30 (CTK) – Petr Mach, chairman of the Czech extra-parliamentary Party of Free Citizens, has resigned as an MEP as of August 31 in order to fully concentrate on his party’s campaign ahead of the October 20-21 general election, he told journalists on Wednesday.
Mach, 42, known as a Euro sceptic, said he considers Czech parliament more important than European Parliament.
“By taking the step I want to make it clear to voters that I bet on the Party of Free Citizens’ successful entry into the Chamber of Deputies,” Mach, who is the party’s number one candidate in Prague, said.
His party has never entered parliament so far. In the previous elections in 2013, it gained 2.5 percent of the vote, while the election threshold is 5 percent.
The latest election models predict approximately the same result for the party in the forthcoming elections.
“We do not bother about public opinion polls. We are doing everything to cross the 5-percent threshold,” Mach said.
In the EP, he will be replaced by Jiri Payne, former deputy and deputy interior minister for the Civic Democrats (ODS).
