ANO Party Congress in Prague: Andrej Babiš Re-elected as Chairman with 94 Per Cent

Andrej Babiš has once again been elected chairman of the ANO movement at the party congress in Prague. The incumbent Prime Minister received a clear majority of delegate votes, standing without an opposing candidate. The existing party leadership was also largely confirmed.

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, as expected, has once again won the election for the chairmanship of the ANO movement. At the nationwide party congress in Prague, he ran without an opponent and received around 94 per cent of the vote. A total of 196 delegates voted for Babiš, two voted against him and eleven abstained. Since the founding of ANO in 2012, Babiš has led the movement without interruption.

In his nomination speech, Babiš said he expected to run again for the party leadership in two years’ time. He justified this by stating that the government was likely to remain in office until 2029 and that he would therefore continue to serve as Prime Minister. At the same time, he stressed that ANO would function well even if he were no longer party leader one day.

Foto: ANO | Facebook

In his speech, Babiš reviewed the past two years and addressed the upcoming Senate elections. He said he saw an opportunity for ANO to break the long-standing dominance of the traditional parties in the Senate if it were successful. He also said that the governing coalition of ANO, SPD and Motoristé sobě should put forward a joint candidate in the 2028 presidential election.

At the two previous party congresses, Babiš had also stood without an opposing candidate. Four years ago, he received around 80 per cent of the vote. Despite earlier announcements that he did not intend to run again, he is thus continuing his leadership of the party.

Havlíček remains first deputy

Deputy Prime Minister Karel Havlíček was once again elected first deputy chairman. He too had no opposing candidate and received 99 per cent of the vote. Alena Schillerová, Radek Vondráček, Robert Králíček and Ústí Region Governor Richard Brabec were also confirmed as deputy chairpersons.