The central committee of the Social Democrats (CSSD) selected former leader and PM Milos Zeman as its presidential candidate for the second round of the elections on January 24.

Zeman told the CSSD Usti nad Labem regional organization that he could only defeat Vaclav Klaus with the help of a united CSSD. Zeman said that he had already defeated Klaus three times and all Social Democrats should do everything possible to ensure that he succeeded in doing so for a fourth time.

Daily Lidove Noviny estimates that Zeman would gain the votes of 60 of the CSSD’s MPs. Pravo and Lidove Noviny suggest that Zeman is likely to gain the votes of most Communist Party MPs, but that this may not be enough for him to win.

(PBJ 20.i.03)