WORLD NEWS | Ex-NATO general Peter Pavel becomes new president of Czech Republic

prague [Czech Republic]Jan. 29 (ANI): Peter Pavel, former head of the military council of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), became the new president of the Czech Republic on Saturday, Al Jazeera reported.

Pavel, 61, defeated billionaire André Babis in the second round of voting to replace controversial President Milos Zeman as the new Czech president.

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Pavel, a former military general, received more than 58 percent of the vote, according to the Czech Statistics Office.

“I would like to thank those who voted for me, but also those who did not, because they made it clear that they respect democracy and care about this country,” Al Jazeera quoted Pavel as saying in a speech after the election victory.

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He has been a staunch supporter of the European Union and NATO, arguing that the future of the Czech Republic is inseparable from its membership.

According to Al Jazeera, Pavel has also repeatedly expressed support for the country’s military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine during the conflict with Russia.

It is worth noting that since none of the original eight candidates received an absolute majority in the first round of voting two weeks ago, a runoff between Pavel and Babis decided the election. (Arnie)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the body of content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)