Milos Zeman Reelected Czech President

PRAGUE- Milos Zeman has been reelected Czech president, the Czech Statistical Office said releasing official results of Saturday’s run-off.

Zeman took 51.36% of the vote against Jiri Drahos, the former head of the Czech Academy of Sciences, who has 48.63% of the vote. Voter turnout was 66.6%.

Voters in Prague and neighboring regions cast ballots for Jiri Drahos, whereas the rest Czech regions voted for Milos Zeman, Itar Tass reported.

 Putin congratulates Zeman on taking office — Kremlin

In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Zeman on taking office as president of the Czech Republic, the Kremlin said on Saturday.

“In his congratulatory message, the head of Russian state underlined that the results of latest election had showcased M. [Milos] Zeman’s high authority as an experienced and responsible politician who put the Czech people’s interests and aspirations into life,” the message says.

“Vladimir Putin has pointed out that Russia highly praises M. Zeman’s principled stance in favor of friendly Russian-Czech relations and mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields,” it said.

H.M