Vote buying in Mariánské Lázně: police seek woman from video

Police in the Karlovy Vary Region are searching for a woman with the initials G. F., who, according to several sources, took part in buying votes in the municipal elections in Mariánské Lázně. A local resident says she offered 800 crowns per vote for the Naše Česko movement; a complaint has already been filed with the police on the basis of a recording.

What the video shows

The man recorded the four-minute video call the day after the election, on Saturday at 10:45. Ondřej, a 29-year-old entrepreneur who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation, told journalists that the woman offered his girlfriend 800 crowns for her vote through an acquaintance. The amount is not mentioned in the video itself.

In the recording, a dark-haired woman with a conspicuous tattoo on her chest explains the procedure: go to the polling station, mark Naše Česko under number 3, photograph the completed ballot behind the screen and send her the picture. She then promises to transfer the money. Those he brings along would only be paid in the afternoon, while she is ready to give Ondřej half right away. She says she has already gathered about 25 people, and refuses to say who is paying. According to her, participants must keep quiet: “It's a criminal case.”

Journalists tried to contact the woman via Facebook, but she had deleted her profile. On Monday, outside her home, a reporter met two criminal investigators from Karlovy Vary who had unsuccessfully tried to question her. She has not been home since Sunday.

Police complaints from both sides

The recording reached Pirate Party city councillors. Janeta Pivcová, a party member in Mariánské Lázně, said she had checked the video's authenticity, above all the date and time of filming, and filed a complaint with the police on the evening of 15 October. According to her, the party is also preparing a court petition to have the election declared invalid.

Ondřej says he first wrote to the local Naše Česko leader Samuel Zabolotný, and when he sent the video, Zabolotný blocked him. Zabolotný himself declined to comment on the content of the recording and considers himself the victim of an attempted blackmail: on Monday morning he filed a complaint with the police. He gave journalists a message exchange in which Ondřej warned that someone was paying for votes in his name and suggested meeting, and then wrote that he was going to the police. Ondřej confirmed the messages are authentic but denies blackmail: he says he only wanted a reaction from the politician. However, neither he nor Zabolotný has notified the police themselves.

Who Zabolotný is and what the movement says

Samuel Zabolotný, 26, previously led the regional organisation of ANO Youth and ran for parliament in the Karlovy Vary Region in 2025, but was not elected. In June 2026 he left his post as first deputy mayor of Mariánské Lázně, quit ANO and joined Naše Česko, keeping his council seat.

Martin Kuba, the movement's chairman and governor of the South Bohemian Region, said he learned about the recording from Zabolotný over the weekend. According to him, the movement had parted ways with Zabolotný a week earlier over failed negotiations with ANO, and he is no longer a member. Kuba declined to assess the recording while the investigation is under way.

In Mariánské Lázně, Naše Česko won just over five thousand votes, or 7.40 percent, and two of the 21 council seats: for Zabolotný and for 72-year-old dentist Tomáš Fouska. The key step will be the questioning of G. F., who says in the recording that she persuaded and paid at least 25 people for their votes.

Read also: How to transfer money to and from Czechia in 2026: services, fees, timing

Source: seznamzpravy.cz