Presidential elections were held in the Czech Republic in January 2023, resulting in the election of Petr Pavel. Incumbent president Miloš Zeman was not eligible to run due to the two-term limit.

The first round took place on 13 and 14 January. Petr Pavel, former chair of the NATO Military Committee, ran as an independent on a pro-Western, pro-European platform, and was one of three candidates backed by the centre-right governing alliance Spolu. He won the first round of the election with 35.40% of the popular vote, ahead of Andrej Babiš, the former Czech prime minister running as the candidate of ANO, who finished second with 34.99%. Babiš had expressed opposition to Czech support for Ukraine after the Russian invasion and was characterised in the media as using populist rhetoric. For the runoff, Pavel was backed by most eliminated candidates and by the incumbent prime minister Petr Fiala, while Babiš received an endorsement from the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia and the outgoing president Zeman.

The second round was held on 27 and 28 January. Pavel won the runoff against Babiš with 58.33% of the vote to become the Czech Republic president-elect. He assumed office on 9 March 2023, replacing Zeman. Babiš conceded defeat and congratulated Pavel. Voter turnout in the second round was a little above 70%, the highest in a direct Czech presidential election and the highest in any national Czech election since 1998.

The campaign was widely described in the media as divisive. The outcome of the election was viewed as a sign of support for the West in the context of the war in Ukraine, and is expected to strengthen Czech ties with the European Union and the United States.

Background Before 2020 Initial speculation about the 2023 election began after the first direct presidential election in 2013. Political scientist Ladislav Cabada said that he expected the new president to be younger than Miloš Zeman when he was elected in 2013. Jiří Dienstbier Jr. was often mentioned as a potential left-wing candidate. Cabada mentioned Petr Fiala as a possible right-wing candidate. There was also speculation that ANO 2011 leader Andrej Babiš, who later became Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, might run for president in 2023. At the previous election in January 2018, Zeman was elected for his second and final term. After Zeman's victory in 2018, there was speculation that the next election might be held sooner than 2023 due to Zeman's health. Speculation about possible successors to Zeman started soon after the election, with bookmakers considering Václav Klaus Jr. as the favourite. Babiš stated that his party would nominate its own candidate for the next election.

In summer 2019, the leaders of the opposition Civic Democratic Party, Pirate Party, KDU-ČSL, TOP 09 and Mayors and Independents met to discuss a possible common candidate. The most discussed candidate was retired army general Petr Pavel. Other names included Miroslava Němcová and Věra Jourová. The Czech Social Democratic Party was also invited to the meeting but declined as it planned to support Josef Středula, the president of the Bohemian-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions. Speculation about Zeman's health was renewed in October 2019 when Zeman went into hospital and talked about his possible successors, noting Babiš, Josef Středula, and Vladimír Dlouhý. Senator Marek Hilšer announced his candidacy on 21 November 2019. He started gathering signatures for his nomination on the same day.

After 2020 Pavel launched an initiative called "Stronger Together" in April 2020, aimed at helping those working in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, especially in crowdfunding financial support for volunteers helping in hospitals or creating medical tools. Political commentators including Petr Holec and Ondřej Leinert suggested that the initiative was a launch of Pavel's presidential bid, noting the similarity with Hillary Clinton's slogan during the 2016 United States presidential election. Pavel said in July 2021 that he planned to run for the presidency and was preparing his campaign. Pavel also visited various regions, which was described by journalists including Tereza Šídlová as a campaign activity.

The 2021 legislative election resulted in defeat for ANO 2011 and a majority for the opposition parties in the Chamber of Deputies. This prompted speculation that Babiš might run for the presidency following his defeat in the legislative election. Following the election on 10 October, Zeman was hospitalised again, casting doubts over how and when the government formation talks would be held. On 11 October, a spokesman for the hospital said that Zeman's condition had stabilised, but he could not yet talk about the prognosis: "The reason for [Zeman's] hospitalization are complications from the illnesses for which he has been receiving treatments." Fiala, the leader of the Spolu coalition, stated on 12 October 2021 that the alliance would nominate a candidate.

On 18 October 2021, Miloš Vystrčil, the president of the Senate of the Czech Republic, announced he had received a letter from the Central Military Hospital declaring Zeman unfit to fulfil his duties as the president, and indicated plans to trigger Article 66 of the constitution to temporarily remove Zeman from office. In response, the Senate announced their intention to transfer Zeman's constitutional powers to Babiš and the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Radek Vondráček, also of ANO 2011. However, he was discharged from hospital on 27 November 2021 and resumed his duties. Babiš stated on 20 November 2021 that he would run for the presidency if his supporters gathered the required 50,000 signatures. Security analyst Miloslav Ondra launched an initiative to do so and started gathering signatures at Anděl metro station on 1 December 2021, reaching 200 signatures. According to Ondra, he had around 50 gathering stations across the Czech Republic.

Candidates To qualify for the ballot, a candidate had to gather 50,000 signatures from citizens or the support of twenty deputies or ten senators. The candidate must file their application and signatures 66 days before the election, following which the Interior Ministry will verify a sample of the signatures. +Official candidates Candidate Party Office(s) held Signatures Notes Andrej Babiš ANO Prime Minister (2017–2021)First Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Finance (2014–2017)Leader of ANO (since 2011) 56 deputies Babiš said in November 2021 that he would run in the upcoming presidential election if his supporters gathered enough signatures. On 1 December 2021, security analyst Miloslav Ondra launched an initiative to gather signatures for Babiš's candidacy. He announced his candidacy on 30 October 2022. Jaroslav Bašta SPD Ambassador to Ukraine (2007–2010)Ambassador to Russia (2000–2005)Minister without Portfolio (1998–2000) 20 deputies Bašta is the candidate of Freedom and Direct Democracy, and was also endorsed by the Tricolour Citizens' Movement. Karel Diviš Independent – 50,007 signatures Diviš, a businessman in the field of information technology, announced his candidacy in January 2022. He submitted 61,000 signatures, but the total was reduced following sample analysis to 49,884, just below the requirement. He submitted a complaint to the Supreme Administrative Court and was eventually registered as a candidate. Pavel Fischer Independent Senator from Prague 12 (since 2018)Ambassador to France (2003–2010) 19 deputies and 32 senators Fischer, a 2018 presidential candidate, announced his candidacy on 13 October 2018 after being elected to the Senate. There was some speculation in the media that he could become the nominee of the Civic Democratic Party if he joined its Senate caucus, but he decided to remain independent. He was one of three candidates supported by Spolu. Marek Hilšer Marek Hilšer to the Senate Senator from Prague 2 (since 2018) 14 senators Hilšer announced his candidacy on 21 November 2019. Danuše Nerudová Independent Rector of Mendel University in Brno (2018–2022)82,628 signatures Nerudová announced her candidacy on 31 May 2022. She was one of three candidates supported by Spolu. Petr Pavel Independent Chairman of the NATO Military Committee (2015–2018)Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Army (2012–2015) 81,000 signaturesPavel announced his candidacy on 29 June 2022. He is one of three candidates supported by Spolu. Tomáš Zima Independent Rector of Charles University (2014–2022) 13 senators Zima announced his candidacy on 26 May 2022.

Disqualified Tomáš Březina submitted 70,000 signatures, but after two samples of each petition were checked and the total number reduced according to the error rate, the number fell below the required 50,000, and Březina was thus disqualified. He initially announced his intention to submit a complaint to the Supreme Administrative Court, but subsequently decided not to submit the complaint and withdrew from the election. Despite this, he maintained that his appeal would have been successful. Václav Hačecký Roman Hladík Terezie Holovská Jiří Horváth Libor Hrančík Karel Janeček submitted 73,000 signatures, but this total was reduced following sample analysis to 48,000, below the requirement. He submitted a complaint to the Supreme Administrative Court. His complaint was rejected by the court on 13 December 2022 because he was still found to be 80 signatures short of the required 50 000. Anna Kašná Jiří Kotáb submitted his candidacy application after the deadline. Roman Lalik Denisa Rohanová, president of the Czech Association of Debtors, announced her candidacy on 1 April 2021. She submitted her nomination on 21 October 2021, the last day before the end of electoral term of the 2017 Chamber of Deputies, supported by signatures from 20 deputies who were not reelected in the 2021 election. She was initially registered as a candidate, which was met with criticism from constitutional lawyers such as Jan Kysela and Jan Wintr, who argued that her application should have been rejected due to being filed prematurely, before the official announcement of the presidential election on 27 June 2022. Her registration was contested before the Supreme Administrative Court by several senators, and she was subsequently disqualified from the election by a court ruling. Josef Roušal Milan Tomeček Pavel Zítko

Withdrawn Josef Středula, president of the Bohemian-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions was running with the nominations of 11 Senators. Středula announced his candidacy on 5 May 2022, having long been speculated as a potential candidate. ČSSD had already confirmed that it would nominate him, and endorsed his candidacy. He later withdrew his candidacy during a debate on 8 January 2023. Hynek Blaško, retired Czech Army major general MEP and former member of SPD, announced he would run if his supporters gathered the required 50,000 signatures. His candidacy was supported by the Workers' Party of Social Justice (DSSS). He failed to gather enough signatures and subsequently withdrew from the election. Ivo Mareš, a theologian, announced his candidacy on 3 May 2022. He withdrew on 2 November 2022 having failed to gather enough signatures. Jakub Olbert, leader of We Will Open Czechia, announced his candidacy and started gathering signatures on 19 October 2021. He failed to gather enough signatures and withdrew from the election. Josef Skála was confirmed as the Communist Party candidate on 2 February 2022. He withdrew his candidacy on 7 November 2022, as he had gathered only 36,000 signatures. Klára Long Slámová, a lawyer, announced her candidacy in May 2021. She withdrew in 2022. Alena Vitásková, Chair of the Energy Regulatory Office, announced her candidacy on 24 January 2022. She said she had gathered 65,000 signatures, but on 8 November 2022 she withdrew her candidacy.

Other announced candidates