Ivan Bartoš re-elected Pirate Party leader

Long-term Pirate Party Chairman Ivan Bartoš defended his position against three challengers on Saturday, after the party’s online leadership election.

Mr Bartoš has been in charge of the Pirates for 10 years now and is seen as one of the most charismatic figures within the party. The victory means that he will be in charge of the party for at least the next two years.

His challengers were economist Lukáš Wagenknecht, the co-founder of the auditing think-tank Good Governance, former acting chairwoman Jana Michailidu, who recently caused controversy by saying that she is a communist, and Ostrava city councilor David Witosz.

Both Bartoš and Wagenknecht advanced into the second round in which the current leader was re-elected after receiving 662 votes out of the total of 948. A total of 265 party members voted for Lukáš Wagenknecht.

Ivan Bartoš said that he was humbled by the trust placed in him yet again and that he saw his re-election as a welcome challenge. He said that the party must focus on doing a good job in government as well as on making regional Pirate politicians more visible publicly.