ANO wins Czech parliamentary elections, Babiš celebrates party’s second victory

With 95 percent of votes counted, the opposition ANO party led by former prime minister Andrej Babiš won the Czech parliamentary elections with 35.5 percent. The coalition Spolu (Together) followed with 22.7 percent, and Mayors and Independents (STAN) finished third with 11 percent. Pirates gained 8.6 percent, Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) 7.9 percent, and Motorists 6.8 percent. Voter turnout reached almost 69 percent. It is ANO’s second parliamentary victory after 2017. Four years ago, it narrowly came second behind Spolu. Babiš, arriving at his party’s headquarters in Prague, said he was “happy,” playing an old Italian hit through a portable speaker. Deputy chairman Karel Havlíček said ANO party could imagine post-election cooperation with Motorists but ruled out any coalition with current government parties or the Pirates. He did not speculate about possible support from SPD, emphasizing that ANO’s “red lines” include Czechia’s firm membership in the EU and NATO.