Czech presidential candidate Horáček thanks Roma for voting, supports Drahoš in second round
Speaking through a video message published by the Romea.cz news server on 13 January, Czech presidential candidate Michal Horáček thanked Romani voters for their support during the first round of the presidential election. He also called on them to support Jiří Drahoš in the second round of voting.
Horáček said he was offering the challenger to incumbent Czech President Zeman the billboard space that he had reserved for campaign advertising between the first and second rounds. “Dear Romani friends, I am glad that I have been able to visit you during my campaign,” he said in a video message for news server Romea.cz.
“Please do not ignore the second round of voting. Mr Ing. Zeman is not a person who has your interests at heart,” he warned.
“Do go to the polls and vote for his challenger, give your votes to Mr Professor Jiří Drahoš,” Horáček said. “We have received so many beautiful messages from Romani people that I have really been moved.”
Horáček went on to say that it is necessary to see Romani children’s talents made use of and that they do not necessarily always receive a good quality education thanks to their difficult circumstances.”We are wasting the talents of so many people,” he said.
“This society has a big task ahead of it, to give those people a chance,” he told Romea.cz. Horáček, who won more than 9 % of the vote during the first round and ended up in fourth place, also told journalists that he had given his all to his campaign and taken it seriously.
The pre-election debate among the eight challengers to Zeman, in his view, had contributed a more cultivated discussion of issues to the national conversation. “We have managed to raise new subject matter which, I hope, will remain part of Czech politics,” Horáček said.
