Former leftist prime minister Milos Zeman told the Czech Republic Saturday that he planned to speak for all citizens, after voting results showed he had beaten conservative Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg for the nation's presidency.
Final results showed Zeman had received 54.8 per cent of votes cast compared to Schwarzenberg's 45.19 per cent, the statistics office in Prague reported. This is the first time Czechs directly got
to elect their president.
Zeman, 68, said on national television after the results were released that he wanted to be "the voice of all citizens" and congratulated Schwarzenberg on an "honourable second place."
It was particularly poignant for Zeman, who had lost in a bid for the presidency 10 years ago.
Schwarzenberg told his supporters: "We have sustained a loss, but we defended our honour."
Zeman had the support of outgoing President Vaclav Havel, who has already served two terms and cannot contest a third under Czech law.
A supporter of European integration, Zeman campaigned on a platform advocating a Scandinavian-style welfare state and backs a joint foreign and defence policy for the European Union.
As leader of the Czech Social Democratic Party (CSSD), Zeman transformed the party's fortunes during the 1990s, leading it to victory in the 1998 elections and then serving as prime minister in a minority government for four years.
Schwarzenberg had surprised analysts by unexpectedly pulling enough votes in the first round of voting two weeks ago to make it to this weekend's run-off election.
But the 75-year-old scion of an Austrian aristocratic family was hurt by the unpopular austerity policies championed by his TOP 09 party, which is a member of the country's three-party ruling
coalition.
Prior to this election, the Czech president was chosen by the legislature. While it is a largely ceremonial post, the president does appoint the prime minister and constitutional judges
Of the 8 million registered voters, 56 per cent turned out for the two-day vote.