Czech premier acknowledges party defeat, praises Babiš’s win
Prime Minister of Czechia, Petr Fiala (Photo: Getty Images)
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala acknowledged the defeat of his SPOLU coalition in the parliamentary elections and congratulated the ANO movement, led by former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, according to Fiala’s X page.
In his post, Fiala publicly congratulated ANO on its victory.
“I congratulate the election winner Andrej Babiš, and I also congratulate all participating parties on their achievements,” Fiala wrote.
The Prime Minister emphasized that his government operated under challenging conditions and, despite this, achieved significant results.
“The SPOLU coalition has borne the main burden of all the crises Czechia has faced in recent years. We overcame the most serious security and economic crises in the country’s modern history. We took a number of unpopular but necessary steps,” the Prime Minister said.
Among the government’s main achievements, Fiala highlighted energy independence from Russia, accelerated highway construction, and economic growth that exceeds the levels of Austria and Germany.
Fiala also noted that the ruling parties’ combined vote, including the Pirates, was higher than in 2021.
“This is a unique result after four years of hard governance. However, the election outcome reflects votes that were not lost but concentrated on the ANO movement. The result is clear, and it must be democratically accepted. Thank you,” concluded the Czech Prime Minister.
Parliamentary elections in Czechia
On Friday, October 3, and Saturday, October 4, elections were held for the lower house of parliament - the Chamber of Deputies.
With over 97% of votes counted, the ANO party, led by former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, claimed victory.
In second place was the center-right SPOLU coalition, led by current Prime Minister Petr Fiala, followed by the political party Mayors and Independents (STAN) in third.
A parliamentary majority requires 101 out of 200 seats. The leader of the party that forms the government following the elections will become the next prime minister.
Czech President Petr Pavel announced his readiness to begin negotiations on forming a new government as early as today, October 5.
ANO leader Andrej Babiš opposes military aid to Ukraine and has repeatedly advocated canceling the provision of hundreds of thousands of artillery shells to the Ukrainian Armed Forces funded by Western countries.
For more details on the upcoming coalition and the implications of the elections, read the article by RBC-Ukraine.
