AlQa'dah 15, 1433, Oct 1, 2012, SPA -- The first ever direct presidential elections in the Czech Republic are to take place on January 11 and 12, Senate President Milan Stech announced in Prague on Monday, according to dpa. The race is expected to be a close contest between independent candidate Jan Fischer and former Social Democrat prime minister Milos Zeman. The two candidates are likely to take part in a run-off two weeks after the first round, according to a recent opinion poll by ppm factum. The Czech president has a mostly ceremonial role and is elected for a five-year term. President Vaclav Klaus is to leave office in March after serving two full terms.
