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President Miloš Zeman appeared in a television “debate” alone for the second time on Monday evening. His opponent in the second round of presidential elections, Jiří Drahoš, declined the invitation to meet the incumbent on the commercial station TV Barrandov, instead concluding his public appearances at a concert at the Prague venue Lucerna.

President Zeman, who had consistently refused to participate in such discussions before the first round, had previously taken part in a solo “debate” on a different channel.

On Tuesday he and Mr. Drahoš will hold the first of two debates on the commercial station Prima. They will meet again on Czech Television on Thursday, the evening before the second round begins.

Jiří Drahoš, challenger to incumbent president Miloš Zeman in the second round of presidential elections, has stated that while he is against a dictate from Brussels regarding the number of migrants the Czech Republic should accept, he feels that the country is strong enough, both from the administrative and security aspects, to take in a certain amount of refugees.

Mr. Drahoš made the statement in an interview for Novinky.cz. The incumbent president has a strong anti-migrant stance.

Surveys conducted for Czech public television suggests that the second round of presidential elections will be extremely tight. The incumbent president, Miloš Zeman and his challenger academic Jiří Drahoš are running neck and neck, according to polls conducted Median and Kantar TNS.

Judging by the preferences of voters who are decided, Miloš Zeman would get 34.5 percent of the vote and Drahoš 36.5 percent. Among the undecided voters, 11 percent said they are more likely to support Zeman while 8.5 percent would be more inclined to favour Drahoš.

Czech public service television broadcaster, Czech Television, has confirmed that it will host a debate between second round presidential candidates Miloš Zeman and Jiří Drahoš and January 25 with Světlana Witowská as moderator.

The tv debate is the sole one confirmed so far amid a tussle between the candidates about where and how many times they might appear. Zeman, who took part in no debates ahead of the first round, has said he would like four debates with Drahoš maintaining two is sufficient.

Czech Television’s usual moderator for such events is Václav Moravec. He already said on Sunday he would not host any second round debate. Moravec is reported to be disliked by current head of state Zeman and his camp.

Zeman and Drahoš won the most votes in the first round of voting and made it through to the face off second round last Saturday. Voting takes place on January 26 and 27.

The political future of current Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš seems rather up in the air at present. His perceived ally Miloš Zeman may struggle to win re-election in the second round of presidential elections next week and, with Mr. Babiš likely to face criminal charges, the ANO chief now says another top party figure could lead the government. I discussed the situation with political scientist Petr Just.

Miloš Zeman received less of the vote than predicted in round one of the presidential elections and his challenger Jiří Drahoš seems to have a strong chance of unseating the incumbent. So who is most likely to be the next Czech head of state? And given his rhetorical skills, will mooted TV debates be enough to turn things around for Mr. Zeman? I discussed those questions with Dr. Sean Hanley of School of Slavonic and East European Studies at University College London.

The two candidates for the post of Czech president have not yet reached agreement on the number of television debates they will take part in before the second round of voting. Incumbent Miloš Zeman has proposed four on-air discussions, on the stations Nova, Barrandov, Prima and Czech Television.

However, his challenger Jiří Drahoš told Radio Impuls on Tuesday he would only participate in two debates, the number suggested by the president himself after Saturday’s first round vote count. He said he didn’t have time to take part in more because of his campaign schedule.

Mr. Zeman won 38.6 percent of the vote in the opening round, ahead of Mr. Drahoš on 26.6 percent. However, the latter has the backing of a number of defeated first round candidates. The run-off takes place on January 26 and 27.

One of the seven candidates who failed to make it to the second round in the presidential elections, Michal Horáček, has offered major help to Jiří Drahoš. Mr. Horáček said he would turn over all of his rented billboards, internet advertising slots and voters’ centre to President Zeman’s challenger. He also called on the volunteers in his own campaign to work for Mr. Drahoš.

Another defeated candidate, Marek Hilšer, has offered to help Mr. Drahoš on social media and said he was also ready to back him on the stump.

Last Friday and Saturday Czechs went to the polls for the first round of the presidential election, choosing among nine candidates including President Miloš Zeman. Public surveys had repeatedly suggested that both the incumbent and his opponent, the former head of the Czech Academy of Sciences Jiří Drahoš, would advance. They hit the nail on the head.

Incumbent Miloš Zeman’s team will provide details on Tuesday regarding television debates ahead of the second round of voting in the Czech presidential elections, his spokesman said. Mr. Zeman refused to hold public discussions with other candidates prior to the first round. However, he said after Saturday’s vote count that he would be glad to meet his challenger Jiří Drahoš face to face.

Mr. Zeman suggested the ideal number of debates would be two. His spokesman wrote on Twitter on Monday that “campaigns should be about opinions” and that was how the president’s camp would proceed.

Mr. Zeman received 38.6 percent in the first round. Mr. Drahoš got 26.6 percent but has the backing of a number of defeated first round candidates. The second round takes place on January 26 and 27.