2018 Czech presidential election

2018 Czech presidential election

← 2013 12–13 January 2018 (first round)
26–27 January 2018 (second round)
2023 →
Opinion polls
Turnout61.88% (first round) Increase0.61 pp
66.57% (second round) Increase7.49 pp
 
Zeman M 1.JPG
Jiří Drahoš in 2019 (cropped).tif
Candidate Miloš Zeman Jiří Drahoš
Party SPO Independent
Popular vote 2,853,390 2,701,206
Percentage 51.37% 48.63%


President before election

Miloš Zeman
SPO

Elected President

Miloš Zeman
SPO

Presidential elections were held in the Czech Republic in January 2018. The first round took place on 12 and 13 January. As no candidate won a majority, a run-off election between the top two candidates, Jiří Drahoš and President Miloš Zeman, was held on 26 and 27 January 2018.

In the first round, voters chose between nine candidates who qualified for the elections either by gathering 50,000 signatures from the public, 10 signatures from Senators or 20 signatures from members of the Chamber of Deputies (MPs). Incumbent president Miloš Zeman, running for re-election for his second and last term, finished first with 38.57%, followed by former president of the Czech Academy of Sciences Jiří Drahoš, who received 26.60%.

In the second round, Miloš Zeman narrowly defeated Drahoš and was elected for a second term in office. Voter turnout was 66.60%, the highest since the 1998 legislative elections.