Andrej Babiš' ANO movement wins Czech parliamentary elections
Billionaire Andrej Babiš and his ANO (YES) movement have won Czechia's parliamentary elections with 34.6 percent of the vote, partial results indicated on Saturday.
With around 99 percent of votes counted, ANO looked poised to take power from Prime Minister Petr Fiala's pro-Western coalition who won around 23.3% of the vote this year.
The major anti-migrant force, the Freedom and Direct Democracy party got 8.3% while a right-wing group calling itself the Motorists for Themselves party received 7.1%.
The two are potential partners for Babiš, who with 86 seats will need the support of another party to form a coalition. He has ruled out cooperation with the other five parties that were in government after the 2021 election, in which he lost.
Babiš told journalists he was "happy" during a celebration at his campaign headquarters on Saturday evening to loud applause from his supporters.
Less support for Ukraine
With the victory, Babiš would join the ranks of Prime Ministers Viktor Orbán of Hungary and Robert Fico of Slovakia, whose countries have refused to provide military aid to Ukraine, continue to import Russian oil and oppose European Union sanctions on Russia.
The Czech Republic has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. The country has donated arms including heavy weaponry.
Babiš has questioned such support and also refused to fully endorse a NATO commitment to significantly increase defence spending.
Last year, he joined forces with Orbán to create the "Patriots for Europe" group in the European Parliament, an alliance that represents hard right groups. The parties are aligned by a critical stance toward EU policies tackling climate change, anti-migrant rhetoric and the protection of national sovereignty.
Babiš campaigned on a platform for cheaper energy, higher pensions and prioritising domestic issue in the Czech Republic above Ukraine. He already served as prime minister from 2017 to 2021.
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