Prague, Dec 28 (CTK) – Terezie Holovska, who wanted to run for Czech president but the Interior Ministry dismissed her bid because it did not meet the required criteria, told CTK today that she is ready to challenge the upcoming presidential election’s result if a complaint she filed recently failed.
In her complaint, Holovska challenged the five of nine official contenders for presidency whose bids had been partly backed each by the same MPs.
After the Supreme Administrative Court (NSS) dismissed her complaint for formal reasons, she filed a similar one with the Constitutional Court (US), which will deal with it on January 3.
Holovska, an entrepreneur and former deputy mayor of Prague’s 4th district, wants the US to abolish the NSS’s decision from mid-December.
While dismissing Holovska’s complaint due to formal shortcomings, the NSS criticised the Interior Ministry for its wrong legal opinion and stated that next time, each deputy or senator can support only one presidential candidate with their signature.
Holovska said today she appreciated the NSS’s position but still she has lodged a constitutional complaint because she considers the ministry’s practice fraudulent and said she cannot come to terms with the fact that five candidates have been registered unrightfully.
“I want to emphasise that I am not conducting a campaign against any of the candidates,” she said, adding that it is the principle which is important to her.
She said the law on the presidential election sets no clear rules, must be changed and her complaint should help provoke a discussion in this respect.
The US’s analytical department head Lubomir Majercik confirmed for CTK that the court will deal with Holovska’s complaint at its first session on January 3.
Theoretically, it may decide on it on the same day or announce that a decision will be made on some of the following days.
Out of the nine candidates running in the January direct presidential election, the problem concerns Petr Hannig, Marek Hilser, Jiri Hynek, Vratislav Kulhanek and Mirek Topolanek. Since no responsible official or authority challenged these candidates’ registration duly and in time, their bids remain registered.
The first round of the presidential election is due on January 12-13, 2018, and a possible second round two weeks later.
Holovska said if her complaint fails, she is ready to challenge the election result at the NSS, which will have to deal with it, as it is the right of all citizens to turn to the NSS.
Nine men will compete for head of state in January.
Along with incumbent President Milos Zeman, the candidates are former Science Academy chairman Jiri Drahos, businessman and lyricist Michal Horacek, all of whom have gathered the required 50,000 signatures of people in support of their bids, former Civic Democrat (ODS) chairman and ex-PM Topolanek, physician and activist Hilser, former ambassador to France Pavel Fischer, each of whom has received support from at least 10 senators, and Skoda Auto former board chairman Kulhanek (Civic Democratic Alliance, ODA), Defence and Security Industry Association President Hynek (Realists party), and musician and producer Hannig, head of the marginal Reasonable party, each supported by at least 20 deputies.