Prague, Jun 28 (IANS): The first round of the presidential election in the Czech Republic will be held on January 13-14, 2023, a top official announced here.
The head of the upper house of the Czech Parliament is bound by law to set the presidential election date so that a possible runoff vote can take place at least 30 days before the incumbent President's term expires, reports Xinhua news agency.
President Milos Zeman's second five-year term will end in March next year.
"Some candidates are now obviously looking for signatures, and some other politicians are carrying out activities that at least bear the hallmarks of an election campaign," President of the country's Senate, Milos Vystrcil said in a statement on Monday.
About 20 people have announced already their presidential bids, according to local media.
Former Prime Minister Andrej Babis and former chief-of-staff and former NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) Military Committee head Petr Pavel are the biggest favourites, but neither of them has yet officially announced their bid.
The parties in the coalition government have not presented their presidential candidates either.
In the Czech Republic, the candidate with the absolute majority of valid votes is elected president.
If no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast, a second round takes place in 14 days.