Miloš Zeman elected Czech president

Miloš Zeman has been elected president of the Czech Republic. The former Social Democrat prime minister received 54.8 percent of the vote in the second round of the direct presidential elections on Saturday while his rival for the post, Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, obtained 45.2 percent. Miloš Zeman won in all Czech regions with the exception of Prague. The turnout in the runoff reached over 59 percent, less than in the first round two weeks ago. Miloš Zeman will be inaugurated on March 8, the day after Václav Klaus’s second term expires.