The Communications Department of the Office of the President of the Czech Republic announced on its website on 2 October 2026 that President Petr Pavel would not take part in voting in the elections to the municipal council of Černouček in the Litoměřice district, due to his being abroad. It added that the president regretted the scheduling error. Municipal elections and the first round of Senate elections are taking place on 9 and 10 October 2026; there is no Senate election this year in Pavel's senatorial constituency.[1][2]
Trip abroad
According to the Castle, this is a private trip outside European Union member states; the Office of the President of the Czech Republic does not disclose specific locations. The president remains in contact with his office and is due to resume his official program on Monday, 19 October, with the reception of ambassadors.[1][2]
Racing driver Martin Prokop wrote on Facebook that Pavel had visited the Rallye du Maroc, held from 28 September to 3 October, and published a photo of them together. According to Deník N, the president went on a motorcycle holiday; the newspaper cites an unnamed senior state source.[1][2]
Election date and context
The president formally set the date of the elections in June 2026. Unlike in previous elections, he had no choice in the matter, since under an amendment to the law, local and regional elections are always held on the Friday and Saturday of the first full week of October.[1][2]
According to the Czech News Agency, the only president so far who has not taken part in some kind of election was Miloš Zeman, who skipped the second round of the Senate elections in October 2020; he justified his decision by saying that in his constituency the candidate he preferred had not advanced. Political scientist Jan Kubáček told the Czech News Agency that he does not consider the president's absence from municipal elections to be anything fatal, but that he finds it somewhat unfortunate, since heads of state since the time of Tomáš Masaryk have prided themselves on voting and encouraging others to do so.[1]
This year, Pavel was privately abroad for three working days in February and at the turn of January and February; in both cases the Castle stated only that he had gone to an EU member state. He spent his summer holiday in the Czech Republic.[1][2]
Related articles: Aleš Juchelka, Litoměřice, Marian Jurečka, Petr Pavel, Prague Castle, Černouček
Chronology
- — First Lady Eva Pavlová criticised the state for not allowing people to vote more flexibly from abroad or from another location within the Czech Republic, amid criticism of President Petr Pavel for his absence from the municipal elections. Seznam Zprávy iROZHLAS
- — Both coalition and opposition politicians criticised President Petr Pavel for missing the upcoming municipal elections due to a private trip abroad; the Castle explained the absence as a planning error. Echo24 Ekonomický deník
- — President Petr Pavel will not take part in the vote in the municipal council elections in Černouček in the Litoměřice area because he will be abroad; the presidential office said he regrets the planning mistake. ČTK / České noviny Echo24
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Reactions from politicians on 4 October 2026
On 4 October 2026, both coalition and opposition politicians criticized President Petr Pavel's absence from the municipal elections in Czech Television's Sunday Debate and in Terezie Tománková's Partie program on CNN Prima News. Several of them called it a mistake and said that political leaders should set an example.[3][3][4]
Statements by ministers
Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Aleš Juchelka (ANO) said that the president is free to decide whether to go on holiday during the elections. According to him, "the president doesn't want to go to the municipal elections, he's traded it for a holiday, it's his sacred right." He agreed with his predecessor as head of the ministry, Marian Jurečka (KDU-ČSL), that politicians should set an example for people if the public is expected to take an interest in public affairs.[3][4]
Minister for Sport Boris Šťastný (Motoristé) said on CNN Prima News: "The president has freely decided not to set an example for citizens." He added that in Černouček one vote would be lost against the ballot on which a Motoristé council candidate appears.[3][4]
Statements by parliamentary groups
Marian Jurečka, chairman of the KDU-ČSL deputies, urged the president to vote on Friday, 9 October. In his view, this is a mistake for politicians in such high office.[4] Former Minister of the Environment Petr Hladík (KDU-ČSL) said that one should go and vote, and that he has no understanding for Pavel's stance.[3][4]
Taťána Malá, chairwoman of the ANO parliamentary group, called the president's stance disrespectful and said that explaining it as a scheduling error could only be taken as "youthful imprudence." Michaela Šebelová, chairwoman of the STAN group, said that the president's move could backfire on him if he calls on citizens to vote in the future, and emphasized that municipal elections are important too.[3][4]
Reactions from politicians and comparison with an earlier case
Criticism was voiced on 4 October 2026 in Czech Television's Sunday Debate and in Terezie Tománková's Partie program on CNN Prima News. Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Aleš Juchelka (ANO) noted that the president is free to decide whether to go on holiday, calling it his right; he agreed with Marian Jurečka (KDU-ČSL) that politicians should set an example for people. Jurečka urged the president to come and vote on Friday. Minister for Sport Boris Šťastný (Motoristé) said the president is not setting an example for citizens, and noted that in Černouček one vote would be lost against the ballot featuring a Motoristé council candidate. ANO group chairwoman Taťána Malá spoke of disrespect, Petr Hladík (KDU-ČSL) called the move a mistake, and STAN group chairwoman Michaela Šebelová said it could come back to haunt the president when he calls for voter participation in the future.[4][3]
According to the Castle, the president left on Friday, 2 October 2026, and will resume his official program on Monday, 19 October, with the reception of ambassadors. Racing driver Martin Prokop wrote on Facebook that Pavel had visited a rally in Morocco. Deník N reported, according to the Czech News Agency, that the president had gone on a motorcycle holiday.[4][3]
According to the Czech News Agency, the only president who has not taken part in any kind of election was Miloš Zeman, who skipped the second round of the Senate elections in October 2020, justifying it by saying that in his constituency his preferred candidate, Miloslav Ludvík, had not advanced. There is no Senate election this year in Pavel's constituency.[4]
Reactions from coalition and opposition politicians
On 4 October 2026, political representatives from both the coalition and the opposition commented on President Petr Pavel's planned absence in Czech Television's Sunday Debate and in Terezie Tománková's Partie program on CNN Prima News. They agreed that constitutional officials should set an example when it comes to voting. According to the Czech News Agency, the Castle stated that the president regretted the scheduling error.[4]
Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Aleš Juchelka (ANO) said that the president is free to decide whether to go on holiday during the elections. Marian Jurečka (KDU-ČSL), chairman of the KDU-ČSL deputies, appealed to the president to come and vote on Friday, 9 October, calling the absence a mistake.[4][5] Minister for Sport Boris Šťastný (Motoristé) said the president has decided not to set an example for citizens, adding that in Černouček a vote would be lost against the ballot featuring a Motoristé council candidate.[4][3]
ANO group chairwoman Taťána Malá called the head of state's stance disrespectful, saying the explanation of a scheduling error could at most be accepted as "youthful imprudence." Former Minister of the Environment Petr Hladík (KDU-ČSL) said he has no understanding for the president's stance. STAN parliamentary group chairwoman Michaela Šebelová said the move could come back to haunt the president when he calls on people to vote in the future.[4][3]
According to the Castle, the president left on Friday, 2 October 2026, and is due to resume his official program on Monday, 19 October, with the reception of ambassadors. A racing driver posted a photo on Facebook with the president from a rally in Morocco. There is no Senate election this year in Pavel's constituency.[4][3]
Ministers and deputies also recalled a precedent from 2020. President Miloš Zeman did not take part in the second round of Senate elections at that time. He justified his decision by saying that in his constituency the candidate he preferred had not advanced.[4][3]
Sources
- ČTK / České noviny — 2 October 2026
- Echo24 — 3 October 2026
- Echo24 — 4 October 2026
- ČTK / České noviny — 4 October 2026
- Ekonomický deník