Retired Gen Pavel elected as new president of Czech Republic

Retired NATO general Petr Pavel on Saturday won the presidential election run-off, defeating populist billionaire Andrej Babis.

Petr Pavel, aged 61, will succeed controversy-courting Milos Zeman as Czech Republic's president, a prestigious but largely ceremonial post.

Pavel clinched 57.8 per cent of votes while Babis received only 42.2 per cent, as the Czech Statistical Office completed the counting of 97 per cent of ballots of almost 15,000 polling stations.

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“My presidency will succeed only when we all succeed together,” said Pavel, while addressing the cheering crowd of his supporters.

The voter turnout was unusually high in the NATO member country 70 per cent, which has a population of 10.5 million people, after an acrimonious campaign which was filled with death threats and controversy.

Once elected as the president, Pavel had vowed to "restore order" in the country.

"I can't ignore the fact that people here increasingly feel chaos, disorder and uncertainty. That the state has somehow ceased to function. We need to change this. We need to play by the rules, which will be valid for everyone alike. We need a general sweep," he stated on his campaign website.

In the election's first round which was held two weeks ago, Pavel defeated Babis as he scored 35.4 per cent against the former prime minister's 35 per cent.

After that, death threats were targeted at Babis and his family, while Pavel fell victim to a hoax which claimed he was dead, plaguing the final campaign with disinformation.

The president of the Czech Republic selects the constitutional judges and the central bank governor, works as the armed forces commander and names the government.

Pavel served as former chairman of NATO’s military committee, which is the highest military body of the alliance. He completely endorsed the humanitarian and military support extended to Ukraine in its fight with Russia.

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For Babis, who had held the position of prime minister in the past, this was his second major defeat. Zeman's support was with Babis, as the two shared similar eurosceptic views and use anti-migrant rhetoric.

Babis and Pavel competed in the second round of voting after all eight candidates initially failed to get a clear majority in the first round, which was held two weeks ago.

Zeman was the country's first president who was elected by popular vote. His second term of five years will expire in March.

The previous two presidents, Vaclav Havel and Vaclav Klaus, were elected by the lawmakers.

(With inputs from agencies)

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