Voters in Czechia have elected retired NATO General Petr Pavel to become the country's next president.
Pavel defeated former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis in a run-off vote by the widest margin ever in a presidential election - 58 to 42 percent.
General Petr Pavel, or The General as Czech voters warmly call him, is now president-elect. Soon after the polls closed and results began to trickle in on Saturday, Pavel took a commanding lead over his opponent billionaire Andrej Babis who publicly conceded.
Slovakia's President Zuzana Caputova congratulates Czech president-elect Petr Pavel, on his victory. /David W Cerny/Reuters
It has been a bitter political fight that has caused a schism in Czech society, which the president-elect addressed as he took the stage.
Pavel said: "We thank you very much. I would like to thank not only those who voted for me but also I would like to thank those who did not vote for me but who came out to vote because it's clear that they care about democracy and what happens in this country."
Millions of Czech voters headed to the polls on Friday and Saturday. When all the votes were tallied, 70 percent of the electorate had participated in the election, the highest turnout in the history of this country in any political contest.
"I understand that there are some who are disappointed because their favored candidate did not win, but I also see that in this country, we do not have winning or losing voters. I see that values won in this election, values such as truth, dignity, respect, and humility," added Pavel.
Some voters saw this election as a turning point for their country.
"I feel angry mostly. I feel angry against Andrej Babis for doing so many things. I just stopped counting how many transgressions," said Tomas Halaš, who voted for Pavel. "The only thing I can think about is how to get rid of this toxic person that caused the Czech Republic to lag 10 years behind other eastern European nations.”
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Pavel hopes to strengthen ties between Czechia and the European Union, which analysts say have deteriorated in recent years. Babis, who served as Czech Prime Minister from 2017-21, has criticized EU institutions and been questioned over his commitment to NATO.
"The people feel that the president is a very important symbol even after President Zeman, who was not very representative, so we want to have somebody that we are not ashamed of," said Vladimir Pokorny, a first-time voter.
The campaign was characterized by threats, Russian hacking, and misinformation. The current Czech Prime Minister, Petr Fiala, described it bluntly as "the worst in the country's modern history."
Many voters said they were relieved that the election is over but some fear that the rift in Czech society caused by the rancorous political divide will remain long after the winner takes office in Prague Castle.
The power of the Czech presidency is limited by the country's constitution, with Prime Ministers running the day-to-day functions of the government.