Prague, Nov 26 (CTK) – MP Marketa Pekarova Adamova was elected the Czech right-wing TOP 09 party’s first deputy chairwoman, while senator Tomas Czernin, former MPs Marek Zenisek and Michal Kucera and regional politician Jan Vitula became deputy chairmen at the election congress today.
Only Pekarova Adamova and Zenisek, former first deputy head, remained from the party’s previous leadership.
Pekarova Adamova, 33, who received 140 votes of the congress delegates out of 173, will become deputy to new TOP 09 chairman Jiri Pospisil, 42, who was elected in the morning, replacing Miroslav Kalousek.
Pekarova Adamova stands close to the team of Kalousek who did not seek re-election. Her rival candidate, Karlovy Vary regional branch head Lukas Otys, owner of a French patisserie in Prague centre, gained 33 votes.
“I will be striving for us to be heard in the Chamber of Deputies and for TOP 09 to keep being cohesive in the future,” Pekarova Adamova promised in her speech before the election.
Nine candidates competed for the remaining posts of four TOP 09 deputy heads.
Czernin received 165 votes, while 112 and 102 delegates supported Zenisek and Kucera, respectively. The were all elected in the first round, while Vitula was elected the fifth deputy chairman, receiving 74 votes, in the second round.
From the outgoing TOP 09 leadership, Leos Heger, Helena Langsadlova and Jitka Chalankova were not defending their posts of deputy heads.
Pospisil said after the election of the party deputy heads that the local and Senate elections to be held next year would show how successful the new party leadership would be.
He appreciated that the congress had elected a “mixture” of personalities with experience from various levels of politics and other fields to the new leadership.
Pospisil called Pekarova Adamova “the first lady of TOP 09” at a press conference and he said he expected her to defend the party’s interests in the Chamber of Deputies, along with TOP 09 former chairman Miroslav Kalousek.
Besides, the congress delegates elected another five members of the leadership and are to decide on other officials to complete the party’s 30-member executive committee today.