Miloš Zeman will serve a second and final term as Czech president, after defeating his pro-EU rival Jiří Drahoš in an election that underscored the strength of the backlash against the EU’s multi-cultural and liberal values in central Europehttps://t.co/5VHgzk7vcG
— Visegrad Insight (@VisegradInsight) January 29, 2018
On 27th January 2018, Miloš Zeman garnered 51 percent of the vote, winning over his opponent Jiří Drahoš, former head of the Czech Academy of Sciences, and claiming his second term as Czech president, a position which allows him to appoint the prime minister and sign bills passed by parliament into law. A previously reported on the Monitor, Zeman is known to be highly critical of mainstream media, and in October 2017 he waived a mock assault rifle at journalists during a press conference.
His reelection celebrations were also marked by incidents which have caused concern over media freedom in the country. During a party for campaign staff, for example, supporters of the president obstructed reporters from filming as well as pushed and attempted to punch a journalist. A video of the incident can be seen below:
Ve štábu Miloše Zemana. Podporovatel si dovolil i na mě #Volby2018 #PrezidentskeVolby2018 #seznamzpravy #televizeseznam pic.twitter.com/YHkgoqKZo7
— Pavlína Kosová (@pavlina_kosova) January 27, 2018
The Committee to Protect Journalists reported that Czech police are investigating the incident. A representative of the president reportedly apologised to journalists for the aggression via text message.