Author: Asier Sánchez
Former Prime Minister Andrej Babis has won the general election in the Czech Republic, but he will need to form a coalition to form a government and consolidate his power.
With a turnout of 68.6%, his ANO (Action of Dissatisfied Citizens) party won 34.7% of the vote and 80 seats, beating the 23.3% won by the ruling Spolu coalition. The outgoing prime minister, Petr Fiala, and his centre-right alliance won 52 seats, losing 19 compared to the 2021 elections.
The current government partners, the Party of Mayors (STAN), came third in the election count, with 11.2% of the votes and 22 seats. The Pirate Party, meanwhile, came fourth with 8.9% and 18 seats.
The controversial Czech-Japanese extremist Tomio Okamura and his pro-Russian and xenophobic SPD party won 7.8% of the vote and 15 seats. Finally, the anti-establishment Motoriste (Motorists) party exceeded the 5% electoral threshold and entered the chamber with 6.8% and 13 seats.
Mandatory pact
With these results on the table, Babis would not achieve an absolute majority on his own (101 out of 200 seats), despite the party’s best results since its first election in 2013. The tycoon has already expressed his intention to negotiate with the SPD and the Motorists to form a government after learning the results.
The former prime minister, one of the richest men in the Czech Republic and a self-declared ‘Trumpist’, has generated controversy during his election campaign with proposals such as cutting humanitarian aid to Ukraine and opposing the country’s entry into the euro.
The vote count, therefore, leaves no room for doubt: without agreements and negotiations, there will be no government. Over the next few days, we will find out whether an agreement will be reached and whether Babis and his ANO party will ultimately manage to consolidate their power.
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