Zahradil elected first deputy chair of Civic Democrats

MEP Jan Zahradil was elected first deputy chairperson of the Civic Democrats at the party congress in Olomouc on Saturday. Mr. Zahradil, a prominent member of the party since the 1990s, received 294 votes, compared to 193 for his rival Jiří Pospíšil. He chairs the European Conservatives and Reformists group at the European Parliament but said on Saturday he would not stand for reelection as an MEP in view of his new position.