Prague, July 20 (CTK) – Czech Senate deputy chairman Jaroslav Kubera (Civic Democrats, ODS) has collected enough signatures of fellow senators enabling him to run for president in 2018, and he wants to decide on his candidacy at the last moment depending on who else will join the race, server writes today.
In the Senate, the upper house of parliament, Kubera gathered 15 signatures, while ten are enough to enable the candidacy.
“I find the present candidates unimpressive. I am waiting for some further candidates to appear, mainly after the [October 20-21] general election. I have it [the candidacy] prepared and I will decide at the last moment,” Kubera told the server.
He said he is considering collecting signatures among lower house deputies as well, though he does not need them any more.
Kubera, 70, has been a popular mayor of Teplice, north Bohemia, since 1994. He has been senator since 2000.
Last year, he was elected to the Usti Regional Assembly for the first time and became a Senate deputy chairman.
At the beginning of this year, he told CTK that his current mandate of a senator and mayor are his last.
He received signatures in support of his presidential candidacy not only from ODS senators but also senators for the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL), and the rival Social Democrats (CSSD) and the ANO movement.
The incumbent President, Milos Zeman, 72, wants to seek re-election in the direct race due in early 2018.
The rival candidates who have appeared so far include lyricist and entrepreneur Michal Horacek, former Sciences Academy chairman Jiri Drahos, former Skoda Auto car maker chief Vratislav Kulhanek and former prime minister Jiri Rusnok’s office head Karel Stogl.
