As of: 01/14/2023 4:50 p.m
Ex-Prime Minister Babis and former NATO General Pavel are going into the runoff election for the Czech presidency. After counting most of the constituencies, both candidates were almost even in the first ballot.
In the struggle for the presidency in the Czech Republic, the populist ex-prime minister Andrej Babis and former NATO general Petr Pavel are in the runoff. After counting more than 95 percent of the constituencies, both were almost equal. The billionaire Babis got 35.5 percent of the votes after this intermediate result. Pavel, who promoted “order and calm”, scored 34.8 percent. This emerged from the official data of the CSU statistics authority.
To win in the first round, one of the candidates would have had to get more than 50 percent of the votes, which is now considered impossible. The only woman in the race finished third with just under 14 percent: economics professor Danuse Nerudova.
Pavel expects a tough election campaign
Participation was around 67 percent of the 8.3 million eligible voters. Pavel expects a tough election campaign before the second round on January 27th and 28th. Babis doesn’t know how to play without fouls, the 61-year-old told his campaign team.
Babis presented himself as an advocate for those suffering from high inflation and energy prices. The 68-year-old was acquitted just a few days ago in a trial about EU subsidies.
Presidential candidate Pavel expects a tough election campaign before the runoff.
Image: EPA
Pavel referred to his experience as a former chairman of the NATO military committee – also against the background of the Russian war against Ukraine. In the Czech Republic, the president has predominantly representative tasks, but is regarded as an influential opinion leader. He can also refer laws back to parliament once, appoints constitutional judges and is the supreme commander of the armed forces.