Babiš’s rival in the election campaign, Peter Paul, condemned the threats against his opponent and his family, but added that the campaign is tense and blamed Babiš for this.
In response, he asked opponents to treat each other “decently and with due respect…, not to be aggressive. The election, according to Babis, must be the triumph of democracy.”
The threats against Babiš and his family were also publicly condemned by the Czech Prime Minister, Petr Fiala.
“It is necessary to condemn any type of violence, whether direct or in the form of threats. We are and must continue to be a civilized and democratic country,” Fiala said.
Interior Minister Vit Rakusan assured that an incident posing a threat to Babiš’s wife will be investigated as seriously as any threat to any Czech citizen.
“Threatening a family is unacceptable and disgusting,” the minister wrote on his social media page.
On January 13 and 14, the first round of the presidential elections took place in the Czech Republic. The former head of the NATO Military Committee, Reserve Army General Petr Pavel received 35.4% of the vote, former Prime Minister Andrei Babish 34.99%. Both advanced to the second round of the elections, which will be held on January 27 and 28.
