PRAGUE (Reuters) – Former General Petr Pavel, who retired billionaire Andrei Babis, has a 15 percentage point lead in the January 27-28 presidential runoff. This was revealed in a poll by Czech Television on Saturday.
After Pavel narrowly beat Babis in the first round of last weekend’s election, the two face off in the second round of voting starting next Friday, but neither won a majority of votes.
The poll showed Pavel leading with 53%, while Babis was 38% with 9% undecided. The expected voter turnout could reach 84% in next weekend’s polls, the highest ever for a Czech presidential vote, a study found.
This post has no executive powers, but has significant powers to appoint the prime minister, central bank governors, and judges of the Constitutional Court.
The president also has a limited say in foreign affairs.
Former general Pavel, who held senior NATO military posts, and belligerent opposition leader Babis, who served as prime minister from 2017 to 2021, may be more pro-Western than incumbent Milos Zeman retiring. Highly sexual
Pavel, 61, is a strong supporter of the West, advocating more military aid to Ukraine and adopting the euro.
Babis, 68, who built a chemical, agricultural and media empire now in trust, shares Zeman’s warm relationship with Hungarian Viktor Orban, who has been at odds with the European Union over the rule of law.
Babis has also spoken out against Ukrainian military aid in the past, touted ambitions to host a peace summit and attacked Pavel last week for supporting the war.
Pavel, who is backed by a center-right government, accuses Babis of terrorism.
Some voters have expressed frustration that both first-round winners were members of the Communist Party before the Communist Party government ended in 1989.
Babis worked in foreign trade and was registered as an informant for the Communist-era secret police, which he denies. Pavel began his military career in the 1980s, enrolling in a military intelligence training course he completed after Communist rule fell.
Reporting by Michael Kahn and Robert Muller, Editing by Emelia Sitor Matarize
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