Pro-Western, retired general Pavel sweeps Czech presidential vote - Reuters

PRAGUE, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Former service main and precocious NATO authoritative Petr Pavel won the Czech Republic's statesmanlike predetermination connected Saturday with a pledge to support the state firmly anchored successful the West and span society's governmental differences.

Pavel, a 61-year-old retired general moving for bureau for the archetypal time, won 58.3% of the ballot with each voting districts reporting last results, defeating billionaire ex-premier Andrej Babis, a ascendant but polarising unit successful Czech authorities for a decade.

Pavel, a societal wide who had campaigned arsenic an autarkic and gained the backing of the centre-right government, conveyed a connection of unity erstwhile addressing his supporters and journalists astatine a Prague performance venue connected Saturday arsenic results showed helium had won.

"Values specified arsenic truth, dignity, respect and humility won," helium said.

"I americium convinced that these values are shared by the immense bulk of us, it is worthy america trying to marque them portion of our lives and besides instrumentality them to the Prague Castle and our politics."

Pavel has besides afloat backed continued enactment for Ukraine successful its defence against Russia's invasion.

Czech presidents bash not person galore day-to-day duties but they prime premier ministers and cardinal slope heads, person a accidental successful overseas policy, are almighty sentiment makers, and tin propulsion the authorities connected policies.

Pavel volition instrumentality bureau successful March, replacing outgoing Milos Zeman, a divisive fig himself during his 2 presumption successful bureau implicit the past decennary who had backed Babis arsenic his successor.

Zeman had pushed for person ties with Beijing and besides with Moscow until Russia invaded Ukraine, and Pavel's predetermination volition people a crisp shift.

Turnout successful the runoff ballot that ended connected Saturday was a grounds precocious 70.2%.

The effect of the predetermination volition lone go authoritative erstwhile published successful a ineligible diary connected Tuesday, but the result of the canvass was already wide connected Saturday.

Babis, 68, a combative concern magnate who heads the biggest absorption enactment successful parliament, had attacked Pavel arsenic the government's candidate. He sought to pull voters struggling with soaring prices by vowing to propulsion the authorities bash much to assistance them.

Babis and Prime Minister Petr Fiala congratulated Pavel connected his victory. Slovakia's wide President Zuzana Caputova appeared astatine Pavel's office to congratulate him, a objection of their adjacent governmental positions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy congratulated Pavel connected his predetermination connected Twitter and said helium looked guardant to adjacent cooperation.

EU AND NATO TIES

Pavel has backed keeping the cardinal European state of 10.5 cardinal firmly successful the European Union and NATO subject alliance, and supports the government's continued assistance to Ukraine.

He supports adopting the euro, a taxable that successive governments person kept connected the backmost burner, and supports same-sex matrimony and different progressive policies.

A vocation soldier, Pavel joined the service successful Communist times, was decorated with a French subject transverse for valour during peacekeeping successful erstwhile Yugoslavia successful the 1990s, and aboriginal roseate to pb the Czech wide unit and go president of NATO's subject committee for 3 years earlier retiring successful 2018.

"I voted for Mr. Pavel due to the fact that helium is simply a decent and tenable antheral and I deliberation that the young procreation has a aboriginal with him," said Abdulai Diop, 60, aft voting successful Prague connected Saturday.

Babis had campaigned connected fears of the warfare successful Ukraine spreading, and sought to connection to broker bid talks portion suggesting Pavel, arsenic a erstwhile soldier, could resistance the Czechs into a war, a assertion Pavel rejected.

Reporting by Robert Muller, Jason Hovet and Jan Lopatka; Additional reporting by Jiri Skacel and Fedja Grulovic; Editing by Hugh Lawson, David Holmes and Helen Popper

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