Opposition triumphs in the Czech Republic | The official candidate, Babis, had been mentioned in the Pandora Papers

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis lost parliamentary elections with a 27.14 percent of the vote to his party Alianza de Ciudadanos Discontentos (ANO) against the center-right alliance SPOLU which obtained 27.78% in the elections which took place on Friday and Saturday in the Czech Republic. Spokesmen for the winning coalition said it could ally itself with the Pirate Party and the Mayors and Independents Movement (STAN). Less than a week ago, Babis was honored in the Pandora Papers for purchasing property near the French Riviera via offshore companies. He is the first president listed in Pandora newspapers to stand for election after the publication of the journalistic inquiry in which the current leaders of 14 countries were also dotted.

Surprising result

With 99.99 percent of the vote, the Alliance set formed between Civic Democrats (right), TOP09 (center right) and the The Christian Democrats (center-right) obtained 27.78% of the vote, a result which at the last moment of the count turned in your favor. The winning coalition also secured 71 seats in the Czech parliament. Meanwhile, Babis, dotted throughout the Pandora Papers, took 27.14% and 72 seats.

While the parties that make up Babis’ ruling coalition, the game Czech Social Democrat (CSSD) and the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSCM) will not have representation in Parliament by not exceeding the required 5% threshold have parliamentary representation.

For the Communist Party, this is the first time since World War II that it will not have representation in the House. While the president of the CSSD and current Minister of the Interior, Jan HamacekHe said that on October 25 he will submit his resignation. While the ultranationalist and xenophobic party, Libertad y Democracia Directa (SPD) by Tomio Okamura, a businessman of Japanese origin had the 9.5% of the vote and 20 places.

The two opposition coalitions (SPOLU and the Pirate Party with the Mayors and the Independents) had already specified that they would not negotiate the formation of a government with Babis. In total, the two coalitions would have a majority of 108 of the 200 seats.

The Pirates and the center-right

For its part, Ivan Bartos, software architect and leader of the Pirate Party asserted that the revelations about Babis in the Pandora Papers are “another piece of the puzzle”. For Bartos, interviewed by The Washington Post Before the closing of the polling stations, another Babis period would lead to an “orbanization” of the country. “These are steps that would probably lead us to be excluded from democratic Europe as we know it today. “, he claimed.

Babis maintains close relations with the current Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, which is campaigning against the rights of LGBTIQ groups. “This is the road we don’t want to go”Bartos added.

Coalition SPOLU is headed by political scientist and former Minister of Education, Petr Fiala, who celebrated the electoral result of this Saturday. “We promised and we will,” said the leader of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS). ODS Vice-President Martin Kupka noted that despite ideological uncertainties among members of the winning coalition, his party hopes to form a government with the Bartos pirates. “We want to bring about change, and with the Pirate Party we can make it happen”said the Conservative leader.

Bartos was also in favor of forming a government with the center-right coalition. “The democratic opposition will have a majority in Parliament. We will start negotiating a future government with the rest of the opposition.

El Donald Trump checo

In addition to its appearance in the Pandora Papers, Babis, 67, owner of the former state-owned company Agrofert and one of the most powerful men in the Czech Republic, is accused of alleged fraud in European Union grants. Prime Minister singled out for conflict of interest as Agrofert conglomerate businessman and politician. In the Pandora Papers, it was revealed that in 2009 Babis had financed the purchase of properties, including a chateau, near France’s exclusive French Riviera. The money to complete the transaction, 15 million euros, was moved through secret loans to three companies housed in tax havens, one in the British Virgin Islands, another in the United States and the last in Monaco.

The tycoon voted on Saturday morning in the town of Lovosice, calling for “stability in these unstable times”. “We must not change the government now,” he stressed. Finally, the appointment of the Prime Minister is in the hands of the Czech President, Milos Zeman, a former ally of Babis. Zeman, 77, had suggested he could nominate Babis even though he lacked a parliamentary majority. Last month, the Czech president spent at least eight days in a military hospital in Prague. According to the British newspaper The Guardian, the president canceled a television interview on the recent election results due to his poor health.