Prague, Feb 22 (CTK) – The Czech ANO movement of Finance Minister and Deputy PM Andrej Babis, which is the country’s most popular party, will hold its national election congress in Prague this weekend, at which Babis’s smooth re-election as chairman is expected.
Babis’s candidacy for another election term has been supported by all of the party’s 14 regional branches.
The congress may replace some of the four deputy chairpersons, however.
On Saturday, Babis will deliver a speech at the congress, and his re-election is expected in the afternoon.
Also on Saturday, the congress will be addressed by foreign guests including Guy Verhofstadt, head of the European Parliament’s Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), of which ANO is a part.
On Sunday, speeches will be made by the ANO ministers in the Czech centre-left government, or Justice Minister Robert Pelikan, Transport Minister Dan Tok, Defence Minister Martin Stropnicky, Regional Development Minister Karla Slechtova and Environment Minister Richard Brabec.
ANO’s new deputy chairpersons will be elected on Sunday.
Nominated by 12 regional branches, ANO deputies’ group head Jaroslav Faltynek is expected to be re-elected the first deputy chairman.
His rivals in the election will be Central Bohemia Governor Jaroslava Pokorna Jermanova and Brno Mayor Petr Vokral, nominated by two and one regional branches, respectively.
The candidates for deputy chairpersons include Brabec, Stropnicky, lawmaker Jan Volny and Karlovy Vary Region Governor Jana Vildumetzova.
The present deputy chairpersons are Jermanova, Vokral and Volny.
The congress is also expected to discuss ANO’s position in the early 2018 direct presidential election.
Like other mainstream parties, ANO has not presented its candidate for president as yet.
Previous speculations had it that the post of president might be sought by Stropnicky or Vera Jourova, ANO’s European commissioner.
However, ANO’ support for the incumbent president, Milos Zeman, is not ruled out if he seeks re-election for another five-year term.
ANO, established by Babis in the early 2010s, ended strong second in the autumn 2013 general election with 18.7 percent of the vote and 47 seats in the 200-seat Chamber of Deputies.
It has six seats in the 17-member cabinet it formed with the Social Democrats (CSSD) and the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) in January 2014.
A long-standing front-runner of party popularity polls, ANO is a hot candidate in the next general election due in October.
rtj/dr/ms
