Pavel addresses supporters after Czech election win

Retired army General Petr Pavel defeated populist billionaire Andrej Babis in a runoff vote on Saturday to become the new Czech president.  With the ballots from 97% of almost 15,000 polling stations counted by the Czech Statistics Office, Pavel had 57.8% of the vote compared with 42.2% for Babis.

Pavel is a former chairman of NATO’s military committee, the alliance’s highest military body. It’s the second major defeat for Babis 68, who is a former prime minister. His centrist ANO (YES) movement ended up in opposition after losing the 2021 general election.