Populist Babis, ex-general Pavel advance to 2nd round of Czech presidential election

ISTANBUL

Billionaire and former populist Prime Minister Andrej Babis and former general Petr Pavel will face off in the second round of the Czech presidential elections, as no one bagged enough votes to claim an absolute majority in first round on Saturday.

Babis got 35.65% of votes, while Pavel was close behind with 34.73%, Prague Morning reported, citing results published by the Czech Statistical Office, with 95% of votes counted.

Economist Danuse Nerudova, the only woman among the eight candidates, came a distant third with 13.79%.

Babis and Pavel will face off in a second round in two weeks’ time.

To be the victor in the elections in the first round, an absolute majority is needed, meaning more than half of the ballots. ​​​​​​​