Prominent Czech constitutional lawyer and former dean of the Faculty of Law at Charles University, Aleš Gerloch, will represent the ANO movement in this autumn's Senate elections. He is running as an independent candidate in the Kladno region, where the seat is currently held by Pirate Party senator Adéla Šipová.
This is not Gerloch's first attempt to break into big politics. In 2018, he already tried to win a Senate seat for Prague 12, running as an independent without party backing, but was unsuccessful. A year later, in 2019, he was nominated for a seat on the Constitutional Court by then-President Miloš Zeman. However, in a secret Senate vote, he received support from only 19 senators, while 45 of the 64 who voted opposed his candidacy. Supporters praised Gerloch's professionalism, while critics argued that for years he had acted more as an advocate and defender of President Zeman's actions than as an independent expert.
According to Gerloch himself, his current candidacy has once again received the support of former President Zeman. If elected to the upper house of parliament, the lawyer intends to focus on issues of law and education.
It is also known that during his campaign, Gerloch has been openly critical of Senate Speaker Miloš Vystrčil, particularly over his trip to Taiwan.
The first round of the Senate elections will take place alongside the municipal elections on October 9 and 10.
Source: seznamzpravy.cz