Economist Danuše Nerudová announces candidacy for Czech president

Economist and former Rector of Brno’s Mendel University Danuše Nerudová has announced her candidacy for president. She made the announcement on Tuesday evening on Twitter, saying that "we all deserve hope for better times." Mrs Nerudová, who is 43, will start to collect the 50,000 signatures needed to officially register as a candidate.

Czechs will be voting for the future head of state in a direct election at the beginning of next year. Former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and Petr Pavel, a former high-ranking Czech army and NATO official, are regarded as the favourites, but they have not yet officially announced their candidacies.

Earlier in May, trade union leader Josef Středula also began collecting the signatures needed to run for president.