Petr Pavel, the former chairman of the NATO military committee, is leading in the presidential elections in the Czech Republic. After counting data on 99.99% of politicians in polling stations to win 58.31% of the votes. His main competitor, former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, will certainly not be able to catch up – he owns 41.68%.
Prime Minister Petr Fiala confirmed Pavel’s election victory at a press conference. “I congratulate Petr Pavel on his election as the fourth president of the Czech Republic.”
“Won [независимый] citizen-backed candidate wins [демократические] the values it represents. “This is extremely important news at this difficult time internationally and economically,” he added.
In the first round of voting, Pavel was ahead of Babis by nearly 23,000 votes, while none of the candidates received more than 50% of the vote.
“I see that values have won this election. He gained values such as honesty, dignity, respect and humility. After the results were announced, Pavel said, “I believe these values are shared by the vast majority of us and are definitely worth having as a part of our lives.”
The second round of the presidential elections in the Czech Republic was held on 27 and 28 January. The turnout was 70.24%.
Slovak President Zuzana Caputova became the first foreign leader to congratulate Pavel on his victory. “With you, the hope that honesty and integrity can be a strength has gained,” she wrote on Twitter.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier noted that relations between Prague and Berlin were “close and friendly”. “I heartily congratulate you on being elected President of the Czech Republic. I sincerely congratulate you on behalf of my fellow countrymen,” said press spokesperson Serstin Gammelinova, conveying the congratulations of the politician.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy congratulated Petr Pavel on his “convincing victory” and stressed that he highly appreciated his support for Ukraine. “I sincerely congratulate General Pavlov on his convincing victory in the presidential elections in the Czech Republic. I appreciate your support for Ukraine and our fight against Russian aggression. Zelensky, on Twitter, I look forward to our close personal cooperation for the benefit of the peoples of Ukraine and the Czech Republic and in the interests of a united Europe.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen congratulated the winner of the election and said, “I salute your commitment to our European values. Your valuable experience in the fields of security, defense and international relations will be important to support Ukraine, to protect and strengthen the European Union.”
The inauguration ceremony of the new president of the Czech Republic is scheduled for 9 March. Czech TV.
Cartridge for Babish
One week after the first round, Babiš declarationOn the morning of January 21, security gave him an envelope written in the name of his wife, Monica. It contained a live cartridge and an anonymous threatening message.
Babiš expressed confidence that this was “an intimidation against the country’s presidential candidate and his family members”, which “should not have happened in a free society”.
As soon as Babiš received the envelope, he reported it to the police and the investigation is ongoing.
Who is Paul?
From March 8, 2013 to the present, the President of the Czech Republic has been Milos Zeman, whose attitude towards Moscow has often been faithfully criticized. Pavel, unlike his predecessor, is a supporter of the pro-Western course.
As mentioned Irozhlas Based on data from the PAQ Research agency, in the second round, Pavel had a clear advantage among people with higher education and in more economically developed municipalities. He won with 51:49 in the third of the poorest municipalities.
President Zeman admitted he was surprised by the election results. He expected Pavel to win, but did not trust him to beat Babiš by 16 percent.
Petr Pavel was born on November 1, 1961 in a small town in the west of the Czech Republic, his father was a soldier. He graduated from the Antonin Zapotocki Military Academy in Brno in 1991. He was educated in military schools in England.
In the summer of 2015, he was appointed Chairman of the NATO Military Committee. Pavel initially tried to establish a dialogue between the alliance and Russia, but after a while he declared that the actions of the Russian Federation posed a greater threat than the activities of the Islamic State (the organization is banned in Russia).
Source: Gazeta
Emma Matthew is a political analyst for “Social Bites”. With a keen understanding of the inner workings of government and a passion for politics, she provides insightful and informative coverage of the latest political developments.