2018 Trutnov by-election

2018 Czech senate by-election
5 and 6 January 2018 (first round)
12 and 13 January 2018 (second round)
  First party Second party
 
Candidate Jan Sobotka Jiří Hlavatý
Party STAN ANO
Popular vote 30,331 14,859
Percentage 67.1% 32.9%
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A by-election for the Trutnov Senate seat in the Czech Republic was held over two rounds in January 2018. The first round was held on 5 and 6 January 2018, with the second round on 12 and 13 January.[1] The front-runners in the election were Jan Sobotka, supported by right-wing parties, and Jiří Hlavatý, the candidate of ANO 2011.[2] Both of these candidates qualified for the second round held on 12 and 13 January 2018, which was won by Sobotka with 67% of votes.[3]

Background

Incumbent Senator Jiří Hlavatý stood in the 2017 legislative election and was elected to the Chamber of Deputies. As a result, his mandate as a Senator ceased to exist.[4] Hlavatý expressed his surprise, as he believed he would be able to choose which seat to take, and called the rule undemocratic and totalitarian.[5]

On 25 October 2017, Czech president Miloš Zeman announced that the first round of the by-election would be held on 5 and 6 January 2018.[6]

Candidates

Campaign

On 30 October 2017, Jan Sobotka announced his candidacy as the nominee of Mayors and Independents.[16] He also received endorsements from TOP 09, the Christian and Democratic Union – Czechoslovak People's Party and the Civic Democratic Party.[11] Hlavatý announced his candidacy on 2 November 2017.[10] Jakub Dvorský announced his candidacy on 21 November 2017 as a candidate of the Czech Pirate Party.[7]

Communist Party candidate Iva Řezníčková was accused of defamation on 22 November 2017.[17] Hlavatý held a public discussion with voters on 1 December 2017.[18]

Sobotka had four billboards put up within the district. He stated that his campaign would conclude with leaflets he would send to voters.[19] Sobotka said that he wanted to maintain the status quo in the region.[2]

Terezie Holovská was rejected as a candidate by the Municipal Bureau of Trutnov. She appealed the decision in Court. The Regional Court decided that the rejection of her candidacy was illegal, and her nomination was reinstated.[20]

XTV held a debate between the candidates on 15 December 2017.[21]

The campaign concluded on 4 January 2018. Sobotka announced that his campaign had cost 400,000 CZK. Hlavatý estimated that his campaign had cost 500,000 CZK, while Karel Šklíba estimated the cost of his campaign at 140,000 CZK. Political scientists predicted that the election would be won by Jiří Hlavatý or Jan Sobotka. Sobotka is popular in Vrchlabí and its surroundings while Hlavatý is popular in Dvůr Králové nad Labem and its surroundings.[22][23]

The first round was held on 5 and 6 January 2018. Jan Sobotka received the highest number of votes, with Hlavatý second. Those two candidates faced each other in a run-off on 12 and 13 January. The turnout was very low.[24][25] Sobotka said that he had expected the result. He said that he would hold meetings with voters and use social media for his campaign for the second round. Hlavatý's share of the vote fell 9% from the 2014 election, which he attributed to the media misquoting some things he had said. He stated that he would not campaign for the second round.[26] Klára Sovová and Jaroslav Dvorský endorsed Jan Sobotka for the second round.[27]

Evaluating the first round results, political scientist Jiří Štefek noted that Hlavatý's result in the first round was lower than expected, and stated that Hlavatý should work harder on his campaign before the second round if he wanted to win. Another disappointing result was that of the Social Democratic candidate Šklíba, who had been considered a strong candidate but received only 6%. Štefek also commented on the result of Terezie Holovská, who had been a high-profile candidate due to her problems registering. Štefek said that Holovská had never had a chance since the beginning of the election.[27]

Sobotka was endorsed by four candidates prior to the second round: Klára Sovová, Jaroslav Dvorský, Karel Šklíba and Blanka Horáková. Hlavatý was endorse by Terezie Holovská. The second round will be held on 12 and 13 January 2018, alongside the first round of the presidential election.[28] Sobotka defeated Hlavatý by a large margin in the second round held on 12 and 13 January 2018, receiving 67% of votes, with Hlavatý on 33% of votes.[29]

Betting odds

Betting shops considered Jiří Hlavatý the front runner. His betting odds were 1:1.8, while his main rival Sobotka had 1:2.5 odds. Klára Sovová was considered the third strongest candidate, with odds of 1:5.[30]

Results

Candidate Party First round Second round
Votes % Votes %
Jan Sobotka Mayors and Independents supported by ODS, TOP 09 and KDU–ČSL 7,615 33.51% 30,331 67.11%
Jiří Hlavatý ANO 2011 5,728 25.21% 14,859 32.88%
Klára Sovová Independent Initiative 2,700 11.88%
Jaroslav Dvorský Czech Pirate Party 2,406 10.59%
Iva Řezníčková Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia supported by SPO 1,612 7.09%
Karel Šklíba Czech Social Democratic Party 1,294 5.69%
Luďka Tomešová Freedom and Direct Democracy 759 3.34%
Blanka Horáková Civic Democratic Alliance 455 2.00%
Terezie Holovská Independent 149 0.65
Total valid votes 22,718 98.81 45,190 71.78%
Invalid votes 274 1.19 17,743 28.22%
Total 100,438 100 99,263 100
Registered voters/turnout 22,992 22.90% 62,956 59.43%
Source:Czech Statistical Bureau[31]

Aftermath

Sobotka was elected as Senator, to serve the rest of Hlavatý's term. Sobotka stated that he plans to focus on regional development. Hlavatý said he had congratulated Sobotka, and suggested that people had most likely decided that businessmen don't belong in politics.[3] Hlavatý decided to leave politics after his defeat.[32]

Political scientist Jiří Štefek stated that Hlavatý's defeat was caused by disappointment with Andrej Babiš, and the other parties' support for Sobotka.[29]

References

  1. ^ "Na Trutnovsku se do Senátu bude volit 5. a 6. ledna, rozhodl Zeman". Novinky.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Trutnovsko volí senátora, favoritem je ANO a sjednocená pravice - Deník Referendum". denikreferendum.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Hlavatý se senátorem nestane. Porazil ho kandidát STAN Sobotka". Deník.cz (in Czech). 13 January 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  4. ^ "Události: Poslanec Hlavatý má problém. Nemůže být senátorem". Týdeník Respekt. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  5. ^ ""Jsme zpět v totalitě." Šéf Juty Hlavatý bude poslancem. Cítí se jako oběť". Echo24.cz (in Czech). Czech News Agency. 24 October 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  6. ^ "Nového senátora budou na Trutnovsku vybírat týden před volbou prezidenta". iDNES.cz. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  7. ^ a b "Literát a pedagog Jaroslav Dvorský kandiduje na Trutnovsku za Piráty do Senátu". Parlamentní Listy. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  8. ^ "Holovská může kandidovat do Senátu, rozhodl soud". Echo24.cz (in Czech). Czech News Agency. 21 December 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  9. ^ "Hlavatý se zase rozmyslel. Zvažuje kandidovat do Senátu na místo, které sám uvolnil". Echo24.cz (in Czech). Czech News Agency. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  10. ^ a b "Hlavatý se rozhodl. Jde do boje o křeslo senátora, které sám uvolnil". Echo24.cz (in Czech). Czech News Agency. 2 November 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  11. ^ a b c "ODS podpoří v boji o Senát na Trutnovsku kandidáta STAN Sobotku". Echo24.cz (in Czech). Czech News Agency. 15 November 2017. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  12. ^ "Kroužkováním přišel Hlavatý o Senát, a tak opět zvažuje kandidaturu". iDNES.cz. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  13. ^ "Majitelka Luční boudy Klára Sovová chce do Senátu". Krkonošský deník (in Czech). 20 November 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  14. ^ "Hlavatý potvrdil kandidaturu do Senátu. Z něj vypadl zvolením do Sněmovny". iDNES.cz. 2 November 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  15. ^ "Klára Sovová se chce v Senátu věnovat snižování byrokracie". trutnovinky.cz (in Czech). 16 May 2007. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  16. ^ "Starosta Vrchlabí bude kandidovat na uvolněné místo do Senátu". Krkonošský deník (in Czech). 30 October 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  17. ^ "Trutnovská kandidátka do Senátu Iva Řezníčková bude čelit obžalobě". Krkonošský deník (in Czech). 22 November 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  18. ^ "Exsenátor Hlavatý diskutoval s lidmi". Krkonošský deník (in Czech). 1 December 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  19. ^ "Volební vizitky kandidátů do Senátu: proč by je lidé měli volit a budou se mandátu věnovat naplno?". iROZHLAS (in Czech). Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  20. ^ "Soud rozhodl. Devátou kandidátku musí Trutnov zaregistrovat". Krkonošský deník (in Czech). 21 December 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  21. ^ "Velká debata kandidátů do Senátu PČR v Trutnově". xtv.cz (in Czech). Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  22. ^ "Kampaň před senátními volbami končí, nejvíce stály billboardy". Parlamentní Listy. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  23. ^ "Kampaň před senátními volbami končí, nejvíce stály billboardy". ceskenoviny.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  24. ^ "Volby do Senátu na Trutnovsku i druhý den provázela slabá účast". Parlamentní Listy. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  25. ^ "Hlasování skončilo. Do "finále" jdou oba favorité". Krkonošský deník (in Czech). 6 January 2018. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  26. ^ "Na Trutnovsku se o Senát utkají ve druhém kole Jan Sobotka a Jiří Hlavatý". iDNES.cz. 6 January 2018. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  27. ^ a b "Politolog: Zisk Hlavatého byl podstatně nižší, než se očekávalo". Parlamentní Listy. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  28. ^ "Lidé na Trutnovsku zvolí senátorem Sobotku, nebo Hlavatého". Parlamentní Listy. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  29. ^ a b "Hlavatý je bez křesla, do Senátu jde místo něj vrchlabský starosta Sobotka". ČT24 (in Czech). Česká televize. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  30. ^ "Volební místnosti se otevřely, kdo bude na Trutnovsku senátorem?". Krkonošský deník (in Czech). 5 January 2018. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  31. ^ "Doplňovací volby do Senátu Parlamentu ČR konané dne 5.1. – 6.1.2018". volby.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  32. ^ "Hlavatý se po neúspěšném návratu do Senátu stahuje z politiky". Novinky.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 13 January 2018.