A retired general who has pledged unwavering support for Ukraine won the first round of the Czech presidential election, advancing to the run-off against a billionaire ex-premier known for spats with the European Union.
Petr Pavel, the former top general in NATO, won by a razor-thin margin with 35.4% of the vote, according to results published by the Statistics Office on Saturday with nearly all ballots counted. Andrej Babis, a chemicals, agriculture and media magnate who leads the strongest opposition party, got 35%. The second round is scheduled for Jan. 27-28.
The central European nation of more than 10 million is choosing who will take over from President Milos Zeman, a powerful politician who has towered over the nation’s politics for almost three decades.
