Review of the election
November 2017 Party of Free Citizens leadership election|
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A leadership election for the Czech Party of Free Citizens was held on 18 November 2017,[2] after the party's unsuccessful results in the legislative election and consequent resignation of the party's leadership.[3] The election was expected to be a two-way contest between Tomáš Pajonk and Jiří Payne,[4] but on 11 November 2017, former leader Petr Mach announced his candidacy.[5] The results were announced on 19 November 2017, with Pajonk defeating Mach by a large margin.[6]
Background
A legislative election was held on 20–21 October 2017. Svobodní's share of the vote fell to 1.5% from 2.6% in the 2013 election. The incumbent leader Petr Mach resigned afterwards,[7] and the election was scheduled for 12–18 November. Mach stated that he would consider standing again. Tomáš Pajonk and Jiří Payne were the first prominent candidates to announce their candidacy.[4] Pajonk was previously suggested by Mach.[8] The election was expected to be a two-way contest between Pajonk and Payne.[4] Mach eventually decided to run and announced his candidacy on 10 November 2017.[9] The other two candidates were Tomáš Michalička and Daniel Urban.[10]
Aftermath
The results were announced on 19 November 2017. Pajonk received over 50% of votes and became the new leader.[13]