PRAGUE - The Czech Republic's opposition ANO party, led by former prime minister Andrej Babis, has won the country's parliamentary election, according to official results from a nearly complete vote count released on Saturday.
With over 99 percent of voting districts counted in the election, ANO garnered 34.5 percent of the vote, while the ruling center-right SPOLU coalition came in second place with over 23.3 percent.
Other parties crossing the 5 percent threshold to enter the parliament included the Mayors and Independents with 11.2 percent, the Pirate Party with over 8.9 percent, the far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) with about 7.8 percent, and the populist Motorists for Themselves with nearly 6.8 percent.
Babis hailed the election result the absolute highlight of his political career.
"We are extremely happy and thank everyone who came to the polls," he said, claiming that ANO achieved a historic result.
Babis added that his party has a clear agenda to transform the country for the better.
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"A government will be formed that will really work hard, that someone will manage and that will fulfill its program from the first moment," he said.
Prime Minister Petr Fiala, chairman of the Civic Democratic Party in the Spolu alliance, acknowledged ANO's victory. "I congratulate the winner of the elections, Andrej Babis."
The Pirate party's leader, Zdenek Hrib, declared that he would under no circumstances enter into a ruling coalition with ANO and certainly not with the SPD, indicated that his party could be a strong and vocal opposition.
The young Motorists for Themselves Party secured sixth place, positioning itself as a potential junior partner in the upcoming government formation talks. The party's chairman Petr Macinka declared, "We are the only truly right-wing party and we want to keep an eye on Babis."
Katerina Konecna, the Stacilo! Movement's electoral leader, said that the left-wing party will not be represented in the new parliament.
She expressed her doubts over whether a right-wing government could solve the pressing issues facing Czech citizens. "We are not stopping. We are moving forward."
According to official data, voter turnout was around 68.92 percent, the highest since 1998, when 74 percent of voters came to the polls.
Czech political scientist Martin Lampter attributed the Fiala government's loss of support to domestic economic problems and a one-sided foreign policy.
High inflation and the energy crisis had impacted many Czech companies and the living standards of citizens, Lampter said, adding that the success of ANO was largely due to its promise of a more balanced and multilateral approach to foreign policy, with an emphasis on greater sovereignty and autonomy for the Czech Republic.
