2023 Czech presidential election

Presidential elections were held in the Czech Republic in January 2023. Incumbent
president Miloš Zeman was not eligible to run due to the two-term limit.
The first round took place on 13 and 14 January. Petr Pavel, former chair of the NATO
Military Committee, ran as an independent on a pro-Western, pro-European platform,
and was one of three candidates backed by the centre-right governing alliance Spolu.
He won the first round of the election with 35.4% of the popular vote, while Andrej
Babiš, the former Czech prime minister running as the candidate of ANO 2011, who
expressed populist and nationalist views, finished second with 35.0%. Pavel was
backed by most eliminated candidates for the runoff and by the incumbent prime
minister Petr Fiala, while Babiš received an endorsement from the Communist Party of
Bohemia and Moravia and outgoing president Zeman.
The second round was held on 27 and 28 January. Pavel won the runoff against Babiš
with 58% of the vote to become the Czech Republic president-elect. He will assume
office on 9 March, replacing Zeman. Babiš conceded defeat and congratulated Pavel.
Voter turnout in the second round was 70%, the highest in a direct Czech presidential
election.
The campaign was widely described in the media as divisive. The outcome of the
election was viewed as a sign of support for the West in the context of the War in
Ukraine, and is expected to strengthen Czech ties with the European Union and the
United States.