Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis did not win parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic after all. This is evident from the almost complete results. Earlier, Prime Minister Babis’ populist party looked on its way to a (narrow) victory. But with more than 99.9 percent of the votes counted, the center-right Spolo (“Together”) coalition won 27.7 percent of the vote. Babis’ party received 27.2 percent of the vote.
Czech media initially declared Babis the winner, but analysts say this belated turn is due to the fact that votes in major cities were not counted until the evening.
Spolo could come to power with a center-left bloc with the Pirate Party, because together they would have 109 of the 200 parliament seats, which is good for an absolute majority. Meanwhile, opposition leader Peter Fiala declared victory, and Babis admitted defeat and congratulated the winner.
The 67-year-old prime minister led a minority government with the Social Democrats. The coalition receives support from the Communists, but is now suffering a historic defeat and appears to have disappeared from Parliament for the first time since World War II.
Babis’ opponents have widely criticized his approach to the coronavirus pandemic. The Czech Republic has recorded more than 30,000 deaths due to Corona. The successful businessman is also accused of conflict of interest. In August, the European Commission halted subsidies to a company founded by Babis. The prime minister is said to have been active in the company, which he himself denies. Recent discoveries of the so-called Pandora Papers on money laundering show that the billionaire owns an offshore investment company that bought two villas in southern France for a value of more than 14 million euros.
Unlimited free access to Showbytes? And that can!
Log in or create an account and never miss any of the stars.
“Creator. Award-winning problem solver. Music evangelist. Incurable introvert.”
More Stories
Funny protest against mass tourism in Galician village
Cause of backlash known in LATAM – in the sky
Increased investment in European defence startups