Eight rivals take on incumbent Zeman in Czech election Czechs are heading to the polls for the first-round of the country’s second-ever direct presidential election starting on January 12. Leading the polls, incumbent Milos Zeman, an outspoken pro-Russian, pro-Chinese, anti-migrant veteran left-winger, looks set to make the second-round run-off. Out of his eight rivals, former Czech Academy of Sciences head Jiri Drahos is best-placed to take on Zeman, ahead of former gambler and songwriter Michal Horacek, according to a poll by the CVVM agency published on Sunday. Other contenders include doctor Marek Hilser, former prime minister Mirek Topolanek and former ambassador to France Pavel Fischer. IMAGES