Populist billionaire Andrej Babiš has won the Czech Republic's parliamentary election, preliminary results show, marking a political comeback and setting the country on a course away from supporting Ukraine. Babiš's ANO (YES) party secured 35% of the vote, while the pro-western coalition of Prime Minister Petr Fiala received 23.0%.
The two-day election filled 200 seats in the lower house of parliament. With almost 98% of polling stations counted, the centrist STAN group got 11.1% and the Pirates party 8.7%. Voter turnout was high at nearly 69%.
Babiš, who served as prime minister from 2017 to 2021, hailed the result as 'the absolute peak' of his political career. However, his party fell short of an overall majority, and he is expected to lead coalition talks. He has ruled out cooperation with any current government parties.
Potential partners include the far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) party, which won 7.9%, and the rightwing Motorists group with 6.8%. Babiš stated, 'We will definitely lead talks with the SPD and the Motorists and seek a single-party government led by ANO.'
During its campaign, ANO advocated for increased welfare spending, reduced foreign aid including to Ukraine, and tax cuts. Babiš, an ally of Hungary's Viktor Orbán, has joined far-right parties in the European Parliament's Patriots for Europe group to challenge mainstream policies.
