Freedom and Direct Democracy choose presidential candidate

The candidate for president of the opposition Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) party will be the former ambassador to Russia and Ukraine Jaroslav Bašta, the Czech News Agency reported on Saturday. Mr Bašta, who now serves as a member of the lower-house for SPD, received the vote of all 20 of the party’s deputies.

The presidential elections are set to take place in January. Whoever wins will replace Miloš Zeman, whose second mandate as head of state will run out on March 8, 2023. Mr Bašta used to serve as a deputy in the lower-house for the Social Democrats and was a minister in Miloš Zeman’s government.