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The first direct presidential election in the Czech Republic was held on 11–12 January 2013. No candidate received a majority of the votes in the first round, so a second round runoff election was held on 25–26 January. Nine individuals secured enough popular signatures or support of parliamentarians to become official candidates for the office. Miloš Zeman (SPOZ) and Karel Schwarzenberg (TOP 09) qualified for the second round of the election. On 26 January 2013, Miloš Zeman won the second round of the election and has been elected the next president of the Czech Republic. He won 54.8% of the second-round vote, compared to Schwarzenberg's 45.2%. He assumed office after being sworn in March 2013. ==Background== Since the dissolution of Czechoslovakia and the adoption of a new constitution in 1992, the office of president has been filled by votes by a joint session of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Czech Republic. The possibility of a directly elected President has been controversial because of concerns that it could weaken a government under the Prime Minister. The 2008 presidential election, which narrowly reelected Václav Klaus after several attempts, however was criticized for the appearance of political deal-making and allegations of corruption.〔〔 Prime Minister Petr Nečas subsequently put the issue of a directly elected President in his three-party coalition agreement when he formed his government in 2010, in part because of demands by the TOP 09 party, and the Public Affairs and Mayors and Independents parties.〔 Several outspoken opponents of the change however came from the Prime Minister's own Civic Democratic Party.〔 In September 2011, an amendment was submitted to the Chamber of Deputies for a second official reading, during which the Communist Party (KSČM) tried to reject the bill by sending it back into the review process, but the Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD), also part of the opposition, did not support the Communists' motion, and allowed the bill to go ahead with certain changes, including limits on presidential power and penal immunity.〔 On 14 December 2011, the Chamber of Deputies passed the constitutional amendment for direct elections by a vote of 159 out of 192. This was then sent to the Senate, which passed the amendment on 8 February 2012 after five hours of debate〔 by a majority of 49 of 75. The Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, Pavel Rychetský, criticized the bill's method in which a constitutional amendment was in effect added, though without changing the original text of the constitution, and while leaving the election open to legal and constitutional challenges. In June 2012 an implementation bill for holding the election passed in the Chamber of Deputies, and in July in the Senate.〔 Though constitutional amendments do not require presidential approval, and cannot be vetoed,〔 President Václav Klaus did need to sign or veto the implementation bill; a refusal could have halted the constitutional changes.〔 Klaus opposed the measure, though saying it was a "fatal mistake"〔 as the country was not ready for such a move. He however signed the law on 1 August 2012.〔 The law was scheduled to take effect on 1 October 2012,〔 after which Senate President Milan Štěch was due to set a date for the election, following discussions with the Ministry of the Interior.〔 The two-day first round was on 11–12 January 2013. However, because no one secured an absolute majority, a run-off round was held on 25–26 January 2013. Candidates were allowed to spend up to Kč40 million in the first round and Kč10 million in the second round. Each candidate had an election committee that manages campaign funding, which should be run through a special account. All anonymous campaigns contributions were banned.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Czech presidential election, 2013」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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