PRAGUE-Petr Pavel, a retired general and NATO commander, won the Czech presidential elections on Saturday with nearly 90% of the ballots counted. Pavel won against billionaire and former populist Prime Minister Andrej Babis. Prague Morning reported Pavel got 58% of votes, with Babis trailing at 42.9%.
Pavel, 61, launched his campaign with the slogan, “Let’s bring order and peace back to the Czech Republic.”The 68-year-old Babis has faced trial over fraud allegations connected to a €2 million (about $2.17 million) EU subsidy in September last year. He was acquitted from the lawsuit just four days ago. New Czech president expected to foster EU, Ukraine ties Newly-elected Czech president Petr Pavel, a former NATO general, will promote close ties with the European Union and offer firm support for Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion, analysts said.