Pro-Russia incumbent wins presidential election

PRAGUE — The Czech Republic’s pro-Russia president won a second five-year term Saturday after beating a political newcomer viewed as more Western-oriented in a runoff vote.

President Milos Zeman’s victory confirmed the political direction set during the country’s parliamentary election, the result of which was seen as part of an antiestablishment wave sweeping Western democracies.

Zeman is a close ally of populist billionaire Andrej Babis, whose ANO (YES) movement scored a landslide victory in the October election. With the two men in charge, the Czech Republic is likely to become more critical of European Union policies on issues such as immigration.

“We can expect the government to be less proWestern than the previous government,” Josef Mlejnek, a scholar of democracy and Central Europe at Prague’s Charles University said.

With all the votes counted, the Czech Statistics Office said Zeman received 51.4 percent of the vote during the two-day runoff election.

His opponent, former Czech Academy of Sciences head Jiri Drahos, whose views are closer to the European mainstream, garnered 48.6 percent.

The Czech Constitution limits presidents to two terms. Appearing before supporters Saturday, Zeman, 73, called his win “my last political victory” and said “no political loss will follow.”

He pledged “to work as I have worked so far.”

Drahos conceded defeat and congratulated Zeman on Saturday afternoon. The career scientist and chemistry professor said he planned to stay in politics, but did not provide details.