ČTK

Polls Show Zeman and Drahos Neck and Neck Going into Debates

Prague, (CTK) – The odds of incumbent President Milos Zeman and his contender Jiri Drahos in the 2nd round of the presidential election are about the same with 45 percent of Czechs being for either, the latest polls conducted by the agencies Median and Kantar TNS said today.

 

Like a week ago, the turnout may reach some 62 percent. The second round is held on January 26-27.

 

Zeman, who received almost 39 percent in the first round, is definitely preferred by 34.5 percent, while another 11 percent are considering casting their vote for him. Taken together, this is 45.5 percent.

 

Drahos, who received almost 27 percent in the first round, will be definitely elected by 36.5 percent, while another 8.5 percent may do so, which is 45 percent.

 

The error of margin is 1.5 percent.

 

“The remaining 9.5 percent have not made up their mind,” Kantar TNS analyst Pavel Ranocha told the public broadcaster Czech Television (TV) that commissioned the poll.

 

Drahos will be elected not only by 88 percent of his voters from the first round, but also by most voters of three unsuccessful candidates, who obtained the total of 30 percent of the vote.

 

The vote for Drahos is to be cast by roughly 71 percent of voters of both Michal Horacek and Marek Hilser and 69 percent of voters of Pavel Fischer.

 

Drahos may also receive 49.5 percent of the voters of Mirek Topolanek, who finished sixth with 4 percent.

 

Zeman is favoured by 94 percent of his voters from the first round.

 

In addition, Zeman may gain 14.5 percent of Fischer’s voters, 12 percent of Hilser’s voters and 10 percent of Horacek’s voters. Out of Topolanek’s voters, 18.5 percent of them are ready to vote for Zeman.

 

One-fifth of Czechs will not vote because they will not be in their residence at the time of the election, while another one-fifth do not think the presidential election is important.

 

The poll was conducted on a sample of 1,522 voters between January 16 and 18.