Pavel Wins First Round Of Presidential Race, Advances To Run-Off With Babis

Retired army general and former senior NATO commander Petr Pavel won the first round of Czechia's presidential election, narrowly defeating ex-Prime Minister and billionaire politician Andrej Babis. None of the candidates received an absolute majority of votes, which sets the stage for a run-off to be held in 14 days.

• The final results showed that Pavel garnered 35.40% of the vote, which puts him in a pole position ahead of the second round. With 34.99% of the vote, Babis lagged by a slim margin, but he is unlikely to pick up enough support from other candidates to mount a serious challenge to Pavel.
• Danuse Nerudova, who had long been seen as one of the leading contenders, performed well below expectations, garnering just 13.92% of the vote. Nerudova was the youngest and the only female candidate in the field.
• After the announcement of first-round results, Nerudova said she would meet with Pavel on Monday to discuss how she could support his campaign. Pavel has also received endorsements from Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Senator Pavel Fischer who came fourth in the poll.
• Further challenges to Andrej Babis' presidential bid came from within his ANO movement, as its Vice Chairman Ivo Vondrak told the press that he would support Petr Pavel in the run-off and was considering leaving the ranks of the movement.
• When this is being typed, a model from Mandaty.cz shows that betting markets are pricing an 84% chance that Petr Pavel would win the run-off and succeed Milos Zeman as Czech President.