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Summary for: Pavel to miss Czech local elections after private-trip planning errorPresident Petr Pavel will not vote in Czechia’s municipal elections next week because of a scheduling error involving a private foreign trip, Prague Castle announced Thursday.
Pavel left Czechia on Oct. 2 for an undisclosed destination outside the European Union. His public working schedule will resume Oct. 19, when he is due to receive foreign ambassadors.
The Presidential Office said Pavel regretted the planning mistake that will prevent him from voting in Černouček, the north Bohemian village where he holds permanent residence.
Castle will not disclose president’s destination
Prague Castle said Pavel would remain in continuous contact with the Presidential Office and would be available if a situation requiring his attention arose.
“He is traveling outside a member state of the European Union, but given the private nature of the trip, the Presidential Office is not disclosing specific locations,” the Castle said.
Municipal elections will take place on Friday, Oct. 9, and Saturday, Oct. 10, alongside the first round of elections for one-third of the Senate.
No Senate election is being held this year in Pavel’s constituency, meaning he will miss only the municipal ballot in Černouček.
Pavel formally announced the election dates in June. However, constitutional and electoral changes now require municipal and regional elections to take place on the Friday and Saturday of the first full week of October, leaving the president no discretion over the timing.
Absence described as unfortunate but not critical
Political scientist Jan Kubáček said Pavel’s absence from the municipal election was not a serious constitutional or political issue, but described it as unfortunate because presidents traditionally use voting appearances to emphasize democratic participation.
“Heads of state since Václav Havel—and, one could say, since the days of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk—have made a point of going to vote demonstratively and publicly, encouraging people to participate and emphasizing its importance,” Kubáček told ČTK.
According to available records, Miloš Zeman is the only previous Czech president to have skipped an election while in office.
Zeman did not vote in the second round of the 2020 Senate elections after his preferred candidate, then-Motol University Hospital director Miloslav Ludvík, failed to advance. Zeman publicly cited that result as his reason for staying away.
Pavel has previously taken private trips abroad during his presidency. He spent several working days outside Czechia in January and February, with the Castle initially saying only that he had traveled to an EU country.
Pavel later disclosed on social media that he had been vacationing in Spain, where he rode a motorcycle. He spent his summer holiday in Czechia.
