Prague: The ANO 2011 party, led by right-wing billionaire Andrej Babis, won the Czech parliamentary elections, marking a strong political comeback after four years in opposition and his defeat in the 2023 presidential race.
According to Qatar News Agency, official data, after counting 98 percent of the votes, showed the party securing around 34.7 percent of the vote, reflecting a significant electoral momentum for 71-year-old Babis. In contrast, the ruling Spolu coalition, center-right and led by current Prime Minister Petr Fiala, saw its popularity decline to about 23.2 percent, while the STAN (Mayors and Independents) party, a former government partner, received less than 11.1 percent of the vote.
The Czech Pirate Party garnered roughly 8.7 percent, and the right-wing SPD (Freedom and Direct Democracy) party received around 7.9 percent. Alongside ANO 2011, two potential partners are expected to enter parliament, namely the newly formed Motorists Party, which captured around 6.8 percent, and SPD, giving Babis a potential coalition base to form the next government.
During the election campaign, Babis pledged to end arms supplies to Ukraine, a decision that could halt the Czech ammunition initiative, which had provided Kyiv with nearly 3.5 million rounds of heavy ammunition since its inception. The parties of the ruling Spolu coalition focused their campaign on Russian threats, a line sharply criticized by Babis, who affirmed that he doesn’t know from which direction the Russian tanks are supposed to come.
Babis also promised tax cuts, arguing that many voters were more concerned with improving their personal financial situation than foreign policy, a stance that boosted his popularity among middle- and lower-income groups. The Czech Chamber of Deputies, the more influential chamber of the bicameral parliament, quadrennially elects 200 members.
The constitution grants President Petr Pavel broad powers to determine who is tasked with forming the government, although political convention usually favors the party holding the largest number of seats.