PRAGUE, Czechia — Populist right-wing leader Andrej Babiš and his ANO movement are poised for victory in a pivotal election that risks turning Czechia into another headache for the EU.
With ballots counted in 90 percent of electoral districts, ANO is leading the Czech balloting with 35 percent of the vote, well ahead of Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s governing center-right coalition Spolu (Together), which is polling around 22 percent.
Based on past election experience, the State Election Commission, which is compiling provisional results from more than 14,800 locations across Czechia and worldwide, is expected to confirm the final outcome by Monday. However, the introduction of new mail-in voting could cause delays. In total, 4,462 candidates and 26 parties are competing. Voter turnout so far is 68 percent, the highest since the elections in 1998.
The STAN (Mayors and Independents) party, the fourth member of the current governing coalition, trails in third with 10 percent, followed by the far-right, eurosceptic Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) at 8 percent — down from 13 percent in recent opinion polls. The Pirate Party, former governing coalition member that quit last year, was on 7 percent.
The election surprise is the Motorists for Themselves party, which is on track to enter the parliament with around 7 percent despite hovering barely above the 5 percent threshold during the campaign. The far-left Stačilo! (Enough) party, which had been polling higher, is likely to fall short.
Europe has been watching the Czech elections with caution, as Babiš has vowed to scrap the ammunition initiative for Ukraine, challenge NATO’s plans to boost military spending, and confront the European Commission over the Green Deal.Critics fear that if the billionaire regains power, the Czech Republic could become a new bête noire for the EU alongside Hungary and Slovakia.“I believe that if we look at his statements and his allies in Europe — like Viktor Orbán and what he has done with Hungary — he [Babiš] will start pushing the Czech Republic toward the margins,” Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský told POLITICO.
“I don’t want the Czech Republic to end up on the margins of Europe, like what happened to Hungary or Slovakia,” Lipavský said. “And today there is a big difference between being part of a willing coalition or not.”Babiš will likely fall short of securing a majority in the 200-seat lower house, meaning he will need parliamentary support to form a government. All of the country’s mainstream parties have ruled out working with Babiš after the election, leaving him no choice but turn to the extreme.
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