Populist billionaire Andrej Babiš wins Czech parliamentary election, official results show

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PRAGUE (AP) — Billionaire Andrej Babiš became another populist leader in Central Europe to stage a political comeback by winning big in the Czech Republic’s parliamentary election, according to nearly complete results Saturday.

That result could steer the country away from supporting Ukraine and toward Hungary and Slovakia, which have taken a pro-Russian path.

With the results of 99.5% of the polling stations counted by the Statistics Office, Babiš’ ANO (YES) movement captured 34.7% of the vote, soundly beating the Together conservative coalition of Prime Minister Petr Fiala that received 23.2%.

Babiš was jubilant after his best electoral result, calling it “historic” for himself and his "catch-all" political group since it stormed into national politics in 2013.

“We want the Czech Republic to become the best place for life in the European Union and we will do everything to make it happen,” he told his supporters and media.

With the victory, Babiš would join the ranks of Prime Ministers Viktor Orbán of Hungary and Robert Fico of Slovakia, whose countries have refused to provide military aid to Ukraine, continue to import Russian oil and oppose European Union sanctions on Russia.

The Czech Republic has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. The country has donated arms, including heavy weapons to the Ukrainian armed forces and is behind an initiative that acquires artillery shells Ukraine badly needs from countries outside the EU.

“We don't like it,” Babiš said about that internationally recognized initiative. “We have a different view of it,” he said.

The opposition led by Babiš blamed Fiala for all the troubles of recent years, from the energy crisis to soaring inflation, and pledged to revoke his pension reform and help for Ukraine.

Fiala congratulated him, saying the result was clear and “it's necessary to accept it.”

His campaign focused on security amid the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

A group of mayors known as STAN, also a member of Fiala’s government, had 11.1% of the vote, with another ally of Fiala, the Pirates party, reaching 8.7%.

The major anti-migrant force, the Freedom and Direct Democracy party, got 7.9% while a right-wing group calling itself the Motorists collected 6.8%.

Babiš said his aim was to form a one-party government and he will have to seek tolerance from the two groups.

The two-day election filled 200 seats in the lower house of the Czech parliament. Babiš won 80 seats, the Freedom Party has 15 and the Motorists 13. The Together coalition won 52.

He joined forces with his friend Orbán last year to create a new alliance in the European Parliament, the “Patriots for Europe,” to represent hard-right groups, a significant shift from the liberal Renew group that Babiš previously belonged to.

The Patriots are united by anti-migrant rhetoric, a critical stance toward EU policies tackling climate change, and the protection of national sovereignty.

The Motorists, who are backed by former EU-skeptic President Václav Klaus, share the views while the Freedom party wants to lead the country out of the EU and NATO and plans to expel almost all of some 380,000 Ukrainian refugees from the country.

“We're clearly pro-European and pro-NATO,” Babiš still declared after the victory.

President Petr Pavel is scheduled to meet with Babiš and other party leaders on Sunday. The head of the strongest political force usually gets a chance from the president to form a new government.

If he wants to govern alone, his minority Cabinet would need at least tacit support from the Freedom party and the Motorists to win a mandatory parliamentary confidence vote to rule.

The result was a fiasco for a coalition of four far-left fringe parties led by the maverick Communists who are openly pro-Russian and failed to win a seat.