The Czech Pirate Party held a leadership election on 8 January 2022, following the party's poor performance in the 2021 Czech legislative election. Ivan Bartoš was reelected, defeating Senator Lukáš Wagenknecht in the final round.[2]
 | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Background
editThe Czech Pirate Party has been led by Ivan Bartoš since 2016. Under his leadership, they became the third largest party in the Czech Republic after the 2017 legislative election, with 22 seats.[3] Bartoš also led the party during the 2021 election, which the party contested as part of the Pirates and Mayors electoral alliance. Due to preferential voting, the Pirates received only 4 seats of the 37 seats won by the alliance. After the election, a part of the membership called for Bartoš's resignation.[4] The party joined the new government following the election.
On 13 December 2021, Senator Lukáš Wagenknecht announced his candidacy for party leader.[5][better source needed] He said that the situation within the party was not good, as it was becoming "a submissive political accessory with only 4 MPs." He expressed concern that the failure in the 2021 legislative election could repeat itself in municipal elections in 2022.[6] Bartoš himself stated that he was yet to decide whether to run for another term.[7] Jana Kolaříková and Jana Michailidu also announced their intention to run.[8] Bartoš announced his candidacy on 16 December 2021. He admitted during the announcement that he was partly to blame for the party's poor result in the legislative election, but expressed the belief that "even though the situation is hard the party will become more experienced and will be stronger." Eva Horáková was also running for the position at the time.[9] David Witosz later announced his candidacy, saying that the Pirate Party should not become a party of one man. On 3 January 2022, Bartoš, Michailidu, Wagenknecht and Witosz were reported to be the official candidates.[10][11]
Michailidu gained widespread media attention when she described herself as a "democratic Communist".[12][13] Michailidu received seven nominations, Bartoš four, Wagenknecht three, and Witosz one.[14][15]
Candidates
edit- Ivan Bartoš, incumbent leader and Minister of Regional Development.
- Jana Michailidu, member of republic committee.
- Lukáš Wagenknecht, Senator.
- David Witosz, Deputy Mayor of Moravská Ostrava a Přívoz.
Announced but did not run
edit- Eva Horáková, member of Prague assembly.
- Jana Kolaříková, Deputy Chairwoman of South Bohemian branch.
Results
editBartoš and Wagenknecht advanced to the second round, in which Bartoš received 662 of 948 votes, against 265 for Wagenknecht.[16]
| Candidate | 1st round | 2nd round |
|---|---|---|
| Ivan Bartoš | 728 | 662 |
| Lukáš Wagenknecht | 484 | 265 |
| David Witosz | 355 | eliminated |
| Jana Michailidu | 285 | eliminated |
References
edit- ^ "'Cítím povolební trauma.' Senátor Wagenknecht bude v lednu kandidovat na předsedu Pirátů". iROZHLAS (in Czech). Retrieved 14 December 2021.
- ^ Beranová, Klára (8 January 2022). "Bartoš obhájil křeslo šéfa Pirátů". Novinky.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 8 January 2022.
- ^ "Piráti si na počátku ledna zvolí vedení, Bartoš chce pokračovat". Deník.cz (in Czech). 27 November 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
- ^ "Vedení Pirátů přijalo zodpovědnost za ztrátu mandátů. 'Bude se to řešit na fóru,' zmínil Bartoš". iROZHLAS.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 14 December 2021.
- ^ "Bartoše chce sesadit senátor, kterého vyhodil Babiš z ministerstva. Wagenknecht kandiduje na šéfa Pirátů". Blesk.cz (in Czech). 13 December 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
- ^ "Senátor Wagenknecht bude v lednu kandidovat na předsedu Pirátů". ceskenoviny.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 14 December 2021.
- ^ "Bartoše chce vystřídat Wagenknecht. Z Pirátů je submisivní přívěsek, tvrdí". novinky.cz. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
- ^ "Richterová se nečekaně stahuje z vedení Pirátů". novinky.cz. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
- ^ "Budeme silnější. Bartoš oznámil kandidaturu na šéfa Pirátů". novinky.cz. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
- ^ "Na místopředsedy Pirátů se tlačí jedenadvacet uchazečů". novinky.cz. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
- ^ "Bartoše vyzvou při sobotní volbě předsedy Pirátů tři protikandidáti". ct24.ceskatelevize.cz (in Czech). Česká televize. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
- ^ "Pirátka, která chce nahradit Bartoše, se hlásí k "demokratickému komunismu"". echo24.cz (in Czech). 5 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
- ^ "Moje vnitřní přesvědčení je komunistické, říká kandidátka do čela Pirátů". iDNES.cz (in Czech). 5 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
- ^ ""Komunistka" má dvakrát víc nominací na šéfku Pirátů než Bartoš". novinky.cz. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
- ^ "Pirátka "komunistka" má víc nominací na předsedu než Bartoš". echo24.cz (in Czech). 6 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
- ^ "Bartoš obhájil křeslo šéfa Pirátů". novinky.cz. Retrieved 14 January 2022.