Jan Švejnar says he will not back out of the race

Presidential candidate Jan Švejnar has rejected rumors that he is considering withdrawing from the race, on the reasoning that with the appearance of a third candidate his chances of beating incumbent Václav Klaus are significantly lower. Mr. Švejnar’s spokeswoman Klára Pospíšilová said the challenger had no intention of backing out ahead of Friday’s election and hinted that whoever was spreading the rumor intended to damage Mr. Švejnar ahead of the vote. The Czech-American economist’s chances now hinge on the Communist Party, which has attached a number of conditions to its support of Mr. Švejnar, nominating its own candidate in the event of these conditions not being met. Observers say that the nomination of a third candidate – Jana Bobošiková – will boost President Klaus’ chances in the elections since the anti-Klaus vote will be split between two candidates.