ODS seeks to remove Filip Dvořák from Prague 1 candidate list

The leadership of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) has decided that former Prague 1 mayor Filip Dvořák should not appear on the party’s candidate list for the Prague 1 municipal council. At an evening meeting of the party’s presidium, chair Martin Kupka said Dvořák had not sufficiently clarified questions about his personal wealth, which Seznam Zprávy reports includes an inheritance of about 230 million CZK in real estate, diamonds and a yacht.

ODS officials argue that the unresolved disclosures could damage the party’s credibility and its electoral prospects in the upcoming local elections. The party’s statutes give the executive board the right to approve candidate lists, and the board is scheduled to meet on Friday to decide Dvořák’s fate.

Despite the national leadership’s stance, the ODS regional council in Prague 1 voted to keep Dvořák on the list, with seven of eight members supporting him. Dvořák defended his record, saying he acted in compliance with the law, posted his explanations on Facebook, and called the pressure from the party chair a “nonsensical precedent.” The dispute highlights internal tensions within ODS ahead of the local vote.