Hilser announces 2023 presidential run

Czech senator Marek Hilser, an unsuccessful presidential candidate from 2018, announced on Thursday that he wants to run for president in the next direct election in 2023. In the January 2018 election, he ended up fifth out of nine candidates and thus did not advance to the runoff battle against Milos Zeman, who was re-elected for another five years. The constitution bars Zeman from seeking a third term as president. In 2023, Hilser wants to be a candidate independent of political parties again, he told journalists. He said he plans to tour regions and start collecting people's signatures in support of his candidacy.