The Interior Ministry will announce which of the registered presidential candidates have met the legal requirements and have thus been admitted to the January elections for the head of state.

The Interior Ministry will announce which of the registered presidential candidates have met the legal requirements and have thus been admitted to the January elections for the head of state.

The Interior Ministry will announce this afternoon which of the 21 registered presidential candidates have met the legal requirements and have thus been admitted to the January elections for the head of state. The number of candidates is likely to be higher than in the last election five years ago when nine out of 20 contestants fought for the presidency. This time, too, some candidates did not supply enough signatures to support their nomination. The Interior Ministry called on seven candidates to correct the deficiencies, none of whom were among the favorites.

Presidential candidates must have the support of at least 10 senators or 20 deputies, or 50,000 ordinary citizens. According to the polls, the best chances of winning are Petr Pavel, a former army and NATO official, and Danuše Nerudová, the former rector of Mendel University in Brno, who are running with the support of more than 80,000 citizens, as well as Andrej Babiš, the former prime minister and chairman of the ANO movement, who has the backing of his MPs.