Populist politician and billionaire Andrej Babis led his ANO (YES) Party to victory in the Czech Republic’s parliamentary elections, securing nearly 35.5% of the vote, according to public broadcaster Ceska televize. With approximately 94% of ballots counted, ANO emerged as the clear frontrunner in the latest round of voting.

The ruling Spolu coalition, which narrowly defeated ANO in the 2021 elections, finished in second place with around 22.5% of the vote. Spolu had previously formed a government led by Petr Fiala, the current prime minister.

The Stan movement took third place with roughly 11%, while the Pirates received about 8.5% of the vote. The SPD followed closely with just under 8%, and the Motorists party gained just under 7%.

Several smaller parties failed to surpass the 5% threshold required to enter the lower house of the Czech parliament. The Stacilo! movement garnered 4.2%, and the Oath party received only 1.1%, eliminating them from parliamentary representation.

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Post-election outlook and coalition prospects

The State Election Commission is expected to finalize and review the full results by Monday. Official publication in the Collection of Laws is anticipated on Tuesday. Beginning Wednesday, citizens will have the right to challenge the results at the Supreme Administrative Court.

Following the vote, Karel Havlicek, Deputy Chairman of ANO, stated that the party could consider post-election cooperation with the Motorists party.

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However, he ruled out forming a coalition with current government parties, including the Civic Democrats, Christian Democrats, TOP 09, Stan, or the Pirates, according to Radio Prague International.

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Babis reaffirmed as prime ministerial candidate

Havlicek reaffirmed that Babis remains the ANO Party’s candidate for the role of prime minister, signaling the party’s intention to lead the next government if a coalition can be formed.

Approximately 8 million voters cast their ballots on Friday and Saturday. A total of 26 parties and groupings participated in the elections, four more than in 2021. Polling stations closed at 2 pm local time (1200 GMT) on Saturday.

Babis entered politics in 2011, when he founded the ANO Party. His party's politics are against the established political parties in Czechia, which he states are corrupt and self-serving. Babis used his wealth and media empire, having owned the MAFRA media group and publishers of major newspapers Mlada fronta DNES and Lidove noviny, to promote his platform. 

He became the Minister of Finance under Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka in 2013 after ANO secured 18.7% of the vote in the legislative election. 

He would later become Prime Minister after ANO won a decisive victory in the 2017 elections, after securing 29.6% of the vote. Babis' domestic policies then focused on populist economic measures such as increasing pensions and public sector wages. His 2017 term also saw some of the largest protests since the Velvet Revolution, with thousands regularly demonstrating against him over concerns of corruption.

ANO is often described as populist or centrist in its policies, identifying itself as against the traditional political elite, anti-immigration, and soft eurocentrism. 

Babis declares himself a "Trumpist" politician and is expected to place the Czech Republic on a course away from Ukraine and towards Hungary and Slovakia in opposition to Brussels. He promises a "Czech first" approach and has dubbed himself a "peacemonger". 

"It's the pinnacle of my political career!" he said to reporters after ANO's win, adding that he will now work towards making the Czech Republic "the best place to live in the European Union".