Petr Pavel: Ex-general beats populist rival in Czech election - BBC News

Defeated former PM Andrej Babis conceded to retired Nato general Petr Pavel on Saturday afternoon.

21 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, FILIP SINGER/EPA-EFE/REX/ShutterstockImage caption, Mr Pavel's victory was announced on SaturdayBy Rob Cameron in Prague and Maria Zaccaro in LondonBBC NewsRetired Nato general Petr Pavel has been elected as the new president of the Czech Republic, seeing off his populist challenger Andrej Babis.

The 61-year-old took 58.32% of the vote, results released by the state statistics office showed.

Mr Babis - who served as prime minister between 2017 and 2021 - conceded defeat in a speech to supporters soon after the results were announced.

The ex-general will replace Milos Zeman, whose second term ends in March.

The second-round runoff between Mr Babis and Mr Pavel was portrayed as a contest between populist oligarchy and liberal democracy.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64438955?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

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