The Czech Republic recently elected Petr Pavel as the fourth president in the country’s history. The president of the Czech Republic serves up to two terms, or ten years as head of state. Pavel is only the second president to have been elected through popular vote. He won the first round of voting with 35.4% of the popular vote, and then won the runoff against Andrej Babiš with 58.33%, a landslide victory. The voter turnout of the runoff was over 70%, greater than the previous direct presidential election. The president is not meant to have executive powers, but can appoint prime ministers, central bank bosses, and judges on the constitutional court. But what does Pavel’s election mean internationally? And how was this election different from those of the past? What role did social media play in the campaigns?

Petr Pavel is a retired army general and NATO chairman who achieved popularity through his confident, collected demeanor and widely supported policy platform. When he announced his campaign he said he wanted to “return order and peace to the Czech Republic.” He is decidedly pro-Western and pro-European, as well as Anti-populist. He described himself as “right of centre, with a strong social emphasis.” He supports both same-sex marriage and adoption rights. Runner up Andrej Babiš is portrayed as his opposite in many ways, especially by foreign media. The Guardian wrote about Babiš, “a billionaire tycoon who stood accused of running a shameless, scorched-earth campaign after portraying Pavel as a warmonger for his support of military aid to Ukraine.”

Internationally, Pavel’s win is noted for his stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In an interview with Deník.cz he said, “The vast majority of the causes of the current energy crisis and high inflation are related to Russia’s war against Ukraine. Therefore, the way out of the crisis will depend on its termination.” The Czech Republic, while not sharing a border with Ukraine, is geographically and politically close to the war. The country has already and will continue to accept many refugees from Ukraine. On January 28th, President Zelensky congratulated Pavel on his win saying, “I will be glad to work closely for the benefit of the peoples of Ukraine and the Czech Republic in the interests of a united Europe.” Pavel’s win shows that the Czech people are determined to continue their support and know where their loyalties lie. 

Direct, or popular vote, presidential elections are very new to the Czech Republic. The first such election was held in 2013, with the election of Miloš Zeman. Since then, the role of social media to the Czech people has expanded. Social media is a global phenomenon, influencing everything from pop culture to politics world wide. A European parliamentary research service briefing on social media in election campaigning said that, “By providing a new form of communication among politicians and citizens, social media may provide a way of increasing citizen involvement in political life, especially during election campaigns.” 

The power of social networks can be seen in the campaign of the third place candidate, Danuša Nerudová. Nerudová had support from young voters and women going into the first round, and some have attributed this to her successful use of social media. Most of her limited campaign funds were spent on advertising online. While Andrej Babiš made the most posts on Facebook of all the candidates, Nerudová was most active on Tiktok. This reflects the ages of their target voter bases; Tiktok is more popular with first-time voters while Facebook does not interest them. Notably, Petr Pavel refused to create an official Tiktok account due his firm opposition of the Chinese platform, but his supporters promoted him on the app in his absence. They created video montages of him during his time as NATO chairman, emphasizing his physical attractiveness as well as his politics. His numbers on Tiktok skyrocketed in the weeks leading up to the election, independent of any action from his media team. 

It is very difficult to translate numbers of likes and follows across platforms into votes. Making predictions is always a risk, made clear by Petr Pavel’s unexpected success on Tiktok without advertising or even opening an account. In the realm of campaign strategy, social networks are regarded as the most direct way to reach voters. In light of this election’s results, it becomes apparent that these are also platforms for the voters themselves to advocate for the candidates they support. The ballot box is no longer the beginning and end of voters’ impact; elections are won online.