PRAGUE (AP) — The Latest on the Czech Republic’s parliamentary vote (all times local): 6:10 p.m. Almost complete results from the Czech Republic’s parliamentary election are showing that the centrist ANO (YES) movement led by populist billionaire Andrej Babis has
PRAGUE (AP) — The Latest on the Czech Republic’s parliamentary vote (all times local):
6:10 p.m.
Almost complete results from the Czech Republic’s parliamentary election are showing that the centrist ANO (YES) movement led by populist billionaire Andrej Babis has won big.
With the votes from 98.7 percent of the polling stations counted by the Czech Statistics Office, ANO won landslide with 29.8 percent of the vote.
The victory paves the way for Babis to become the next prime minister.
The opposition conservative Civic Democrats are distant second with 11.2 percent of the vote while the country’s most radical anti-migration, anti-Islam and anti-EU party, Freedom and Direct Democracy, is in third with 10.8 percent of the vote.
The Pirate Party won parliamentary seats for the first time with 10.6 percent while the Communists got 7.9 percent in the ballot that delivered a severe blow to mainstream parties.
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3:45 p.m.
Voting has ended in the Czech Republic’s parliamentary election and early results show the centrist ANO (YES) movement led by populist billionaire Andrej Babis in the lead.
The Statistics Office says Saturday that ANO has received 31.7 percent of the vote after ballots from almost 15 percent of the polling stations have been counted.
Babis, the front-runner heading into the vote, has been critical of the European Union and his victory could result in another euroskeptic government in Central Europe. If he wins, he’s likely to become the country’s next prime minister, despite allegations of fraud linked to EU subsidies.
The Czech Republic’s most radical anti-migration, anti-EU party, Freedom and Direct Democracy, is in second with 11.7 percent of the vote so far and the Communists are third with 9.5 percent of the vote.
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9 a.m.
Czech citizens are voting for a second day in a parliamentary election that could install another euroskeptic government in Central Europe.
Two days of balloting that started Friday are being held to fill 200 seats in the Czech Republic’s lower house of Parliament.
Voting wraps up on Saturday afternoon and results are expected late in the day.
The centrist ANO (YES) movement led by populist billionaire Andrej Babis was the front-runner heading into the election. Polls show he is likely to become the next prime minister despite allegations of fraud linked to EU subsidies.
Babis has been critical of the European Union; he opposes the EU’s quota system on redistributing refugees and setting a date for adopting the euro.
Eight parties and groupings are in line to win seats.
