democracy
High turnout in presidential runoff in the Czech Republic
People walk past an election poster for presidential candidate Andrej Babis on a street in Prague. photo
© Tomas Tkacik/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
Populist ex-prime minister or pro-Western former NATO general? In the Czech Republic, people can elect a new president. It seems that many are involved in the decision.
In the run-off election for the presidency in the Czech Republic, a high turnout is emerging. According to current knowledge, more people will vote in the decisive round, which ends today, than in the first round two weeks ago or in the runoff five years ago, as the CTK news agency reported. The decision falls between former NATO general Petr Pavel and former Prime Minister Andrei Babis.
The almost 15,000 polling stations are open until 2 p.m. Then the count begins. The result is expected later this afternoon. No projections or forecasts are published.
The latest polls put Pavel, a former paratrooper who is considered pro-Western, with a clear lead over the populist ex-Prime Minister Babis, a billionaire. In the Czech Republic, the president has predominantly representative tasks, but also appoints the government and is the supreme commander of the armed forces.