Reuters
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Former army chief and high NATO official Petr Pavel won the Czech Republic’s presidential election on Saturday with a pledge to keep the country firmly anchored in the West and bridge society’s political differences.
Pavel, a 61-year-old retired general running for office for the first time, won 58.3% of the vote with all voting districts reporting final results, defeating billionaire ex-premier Andrej Babis, a dominant but polarizing force in Czech politics for a decade.
Pavel, a social liberal who had campaigned as an independent and gained the backing of the center-right government, conveyed a message of unity when addressing his supporters and journalists at a Prague concert venue on Saturday as results showed he had won.
“Values such as truth, dignity, respect and humility won,” he said.
“I am convinced that these values are shared by…
2023-01-28 12:00:59 Czech election: Retired general Petr Pavel wins presidential vote
Source from www.cnn.com May 8th, 2021 marked the day when Czech citizens casted their ballots to choose their next President. In the presidential election held on the same day, retired General Petr Pavel emerged winner with a majority vote.
Petr Pavel, a 64-year-old former NATO General and Chief of Staff, is the current Chairman of the Czech Forum of International Rescuers. He has served in the Czech Military for over 3 decades and is also noted for his position as Chairman of the Cabinet of the Czech Republic in 2005-2006 and was also the Head of the Military Defense for the Czech Republic for 6 years.
His success in the presidential election came as a surprise for many as most opinion polls favored Jiri Drahos, a respected former chemistry professor from the Charles University in Prague and former Chairman of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Petr Pavel has been active in the government sector for more than 18 years.
Petr Pavel and Jiri Drahos faced off in the second round of the election and Petr Pavel emerged winner with an estimated 54 percent of the ballots in favor of him against 46 percent went towards Jiri Drahos.
In his address to the voters and members of the media, General Pavel thanked them for their trust and stressed on the importance of pursuing a bilateral relationship with the European Union while adhering to the original values of the Czech Republic.
The task ahead of General Pavel is to unite the Czech Republic and revive the economy while adhering to the guidelines set by the country’s Constitution. He will have a 5-year term to serve as the President of the Czech Republic when the current interim president, Milos Zeman of the Social Democratic Party, steps down.
With the election of General Pavel as the Czech Republic’s President, the nation has embraced a different set of policies that will help build the nation and ensure stability in the region.