Former ČSSD Leader Michal Šmarda to Run for Senate from Nové Město na Moravě

Michal Šmarda, former chairman of the Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD), will file his candidacy papers for the Czech Senate elections on Tuesday, he announced on Monday. Since leaving ČSSD, Šmarda has been politically unaffiliated and currently serves as mayor of Nové Město na Moravě, heading the local movement "Better Nové Město."

Šmarda plans to reveal which parties are backing him only on Tuesday, when he submits his application. The ruling ANO movement appears unlikely to field its own candidate in this district — unless it has a last-minute surprise in store.

Among the parties from the former ruling coalition, SPD has already put forward a candidate: Radek Koten, a deputy and chairman of the movement's regional branch in the Vysočina region.

Physician Radek Černý was among the first to announce his candidacy back in mid-April. He is running under the ODS banner but has secured backing from the Pirates and STAN ("Mayors and Independents"). This means two representatives of the former Spolu government coalition will face off in the first round, since Christian Democratic Union senator Josef Klement is also defending his seat. The chairman of the Senate's Christian Democratic caucus is likewise counting on support from STAN, which has already confirmed it will not field its own candidate.

Alongside them, an independent candidate has also filed — Brno-based IT specialist David Moos.

The deadline for submitting candidacy applications is midday on August 4. The first round of the Senate elections will take place alongside municipal elections on October 9 and 10.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz