Presidential vote should be in early February, says lower house chairman

A vote to choose the next president of the Czech Republic should begin on February 7 or 8 next year, the chairman of the Chamber of Deputies, Miloslav Vlcek, said on Wednesday. Those dates are at the start of the period set for the vote by the Czech constitution. Speaking after talks with the present president, Vaclav Klaus, Mr Vlcek said, however, that a concrete date had not yet been agreed. President Klaus, who is 66, plans to stand for re-election; no other candidates have yet been declared.