Vít Rakušan re-elected chair of Mayors and Independents

Deputy Prime Minister Vít Rakušan has been re-elected chairman of the STAN party of mayors and independents at a party congress in Hradec Králové on Saturday. He defended his post with 292 votes out of 305 delegates. MP Lukáš Vlček has been elected first chairman of the party.

The extraordinary congress was called following a huge corruption scandal, which led to the resignation of vice-chair and education minister Petr Gazdík. Another vice-chairman, MEP Stanislav Polčák, has suspended his membership in the party over his links with the lobbyist at the centre of the scandal.

Prior to Saturday’s vote, Vít Rakušan said the Mayors and Independents were dealing with the biggest problems since the party’s founding and said his plan was to plans to start professionalize the movement and restore trust among voters.