The ballots are already coming to the vote yesterday, as elections in the country are holding Friday and Saturday, in an election that is of particular interest, not only inside the country but also throughout the European Union, as the result is likely to cause more problems in achieving unanimity between Member States.
In particular, the latest polls show that the right -wing Ano party, led by billionaire Andrei Babis, is very likely to win. Babis promises, among other things, to reduce support for her, while disagreeing with her policies on both the issue of immigration and the green climate agreement.
What do the Czechs vote for?
Czech citizens are voting in the parliamentary elections for the election of 200 legislators for the House of Representatives (Poslanecká sněmovna in Czech), the lower parliament of the Czech parliament. The vote has already begun yesterday and continues today.
The constituencies will be open until 2 pm On Saturday, local time. For the first time, Czechs can vote by correspondence from abroad.
When are the results expected?
The results will begin to be announced gradually after the closure of the electoral departments. The first results are expected late this afternoon and the final results at night.
No party is expected to win the absolute majority, so the first party will probably need to negotiate a coalition or seek support to form a minority government.
How many parties are involved?
A total of 26 parties participate in the election.
But of these 26, only about eight have a real chance of electing representatives, according to final polls published on September 28. (Parties must reach at least the 5% limit to enter parliament.)
Among the parties there is a wealth of different ideologies. Specifically, there are several populist parties, a patchwork of democratic parties that are mainly linked to their common dislike for the populists, the communists, but also the far -right who invest in fear. Finally, there are the liberal pirates, who in the polls are recorded at 10%.
Who is expected to be the winner?
As mentioned above, Babis’ pop -right Ano leads about 29%, according to the latest polls, and the businessman is expected to become the next prime minister of the country.
In second place, with 20%, is the center-right spolu coalition (together), which is still in the government and consists of the Democrats of Citizens (ODS), the Christian Democrats (KDU -čsl) of Fiala and the liberal-conservative top 09.
The center -right Stan (Mayors and Independent), a fourth member of the government coalition, descends itself this time and garnering about 11% of the votes in the polls.
At the same time, the liberal party of pirates who left the ruling coalition last September is recorded, as mentioned in 10%, increasing its percentages through imaginative pre -election songs and collaborations with YouTubers.
In third place is expected to find the far -right, anti -immigration and Eurosceptic Freedom Party (SPD), led by Tokyo -born Tomio Okamura, which raises 13% in polls.
A role in whether or not Babis be able to form, seems to be the success of or not smaller parties, such as the far -left Stačilo! (Enough) exceed the 5%threshold, as in this case the seats of the first party will be reduced.
Why are the elections important?
The Czech Republic, which hosts most Ukrainian refugees per capita in the EU, has strongly supported Kiev so far in his fight against Russia.
Babis, however, has promised to reduce support for Ukraine, and has also criticized the initiative to deliver ammunition under the leadership of Prague, which delivers millions of cartridges to Kiev, having committed it to cancel it, indicating that it should be applied.
Many analysts are afraid that Babis could overthrow the balances in Central Europe, turning the compass away from Brussels and the dominant pro -Turkish European feeling.
Neighboring Slovakia is also leaning towards Moscow, while Hungary is the Member State of the Union that shows the greatest sympathy for the Kremlin, led by Victor Orban,
In an interview with Politivo, current Foreign Minister Jan Lipavski described any move to abolish the “stupid and short -sighted” initiative and “a huge gift to Putin”.
According to Petros Kannok, a political scientist at Masarick University in Brno, Ano is not “open to Russia’s side … but leans much more towards Moscow than to Ukraine”.
“I think the Czech Republic will be significantly withdrawn from its current activity – both in symbolic and in terms of real political decisions,” Kaniok said.
Babis, for his part, denies allegations that his party is pro -Russian.
What is at stake inside?
For the first time since the fall of communism in 1989, extremist parties that support the EU withdrawal and NATO could end up either directly in the government or support Ano.
Babis has repeatedly stated that he would like to rule on his own, but this scenario remains unlikely and will only come true if his party has more than 40% of the seats in today’s showdown.
“The best for our country in this situation would be a majority one -party government … This would make it possible to rapidly implement our program without compromising in coalitions,” Babis said.
Both the current government coalition, the Spolu and the Ano have excluded cooperation between them, leaving only the most marginal parties as potential partners.
Babis excluded a coalition with the far -right SPD last year, but as the elections are approaching, it remains unclear. Ano and SPD are already sharing power at regional level, in four parts of the country. On Tuesday, Babis also said he would not rule with the Communists, though his first cabinet was based on their support.
What will happen the next day?
As for the next day, Czech President Petr Pavel has the constitutional ability not to appoint Babis to the prime minister, even if he wins the election, due to a possible conflict of interests associated with Babis.
Specifically, Czech legislation on conflict of interest prohibits officials from owning or controlling a business that could create a conflict with their government functioning. This does not mean that ministers cannot own a business, simply that they have the order to prioritize the public interest over staff.
It should be noted that Babis re -owned Agrofert’s ownership in December 2024, as he had handed over the group to two Trust Funds in 2017. However, authorities estimate that the actions were not so clean.
In 2019, a European Commission’s audit found that Babis continued to exert both “direct” and “indirect” influence on the two funds that had control of the company.
In recent months, Agrofert has suffered a series of defeats in the Czech courts, confirming that Babis continued to control the operation while he was prime minister. The Czech Ministry of Agriculture said Agrofert has to return more than 200 million euros to agricultural subsidies payments, something Babis replied would not happen.
In an enigmatic message to the nation before the election, Pavel said he would respect both the Constitution and the results of the elections. What will really do is expected with great interest.
