PRAGUE, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- Former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis officially announced his bid for the 2023 presidential election on Monday.
Babis emphasized that inflation in the Czech Republic, which rose to a worrying 18 percent annual rate in September, is crippling citizens.
One of the wealthiest people in the Czech Republic, Babis is also leader of the Action of Dissatisfied Citizens (ANO), the largest single party in the country's lower house of parliament. He is on trial for an alleged European Union subsidy fraud scheme.
According to investigators, Babis applied for subsidies to build a conference center, dubbed the "Stork's Nest," that was meant to be earmarked for small and medium-sized businesses.
The president of the Czech Republic is chosen in a direct election, and serves a term of five years. Presidents can only win two consecutive mandates at most. The current Czech President Milos Zeman's second term ends in early March.
The first round of the presidential election in the country will be held on Jan. 13-14, 2023, while the second round could be held two weeks later if no candidate wins a majority. ■
