Czech general election ends

Czech Social Democrats is leading the country's parliamentary elections on Saturday, preliminary results showed. The Social Democratic Party (CSSD) took around 21 percent of the votes, followed by a newly formed centrist anti-graft protest movement ANO with about 19 percent and the Communist party (KSCM) with some 15 percent. Four other parties - including the two centre-right parties whose scandal-tainted coalition collapsed in June - also seemed set to cross the 5 percent threshold to enter the parliament. The official results of the elections will be announced on Oct. 30. The Social Democrats, out of power since 2006, have previously said they wanted to form a government backed by the Communists who took around 15 percent of the votes, largely in line with earlier estimates. But with a far worse result than expected - earlier opinion polls suggested the CSSD could win 30 to 40 percent of the vote - the Social Democrats might need support from other smaller parties. Political movement ANO, led by business tycoon Andrej Babis, proved to be the biggest winner of the election, riding on an American-style campaign, and the Czech people's general distaste for the country's status quo. But Babis said he could not envisage supporting a Social Democrat cabinet for now, and did not want his party joining any new coalition. The snap election was called after former prime minister Petr Necas resigned in June amid a corruption scandal. His Civic Democrats won only about 7.7 percent, while its junior partner in the previous government TOP09 won less than 12 percent. Meanwhile, the Dawn of Direct Democracy movement surprisingly passed the 5-percent threshold, winnin just shy of 7 percent of all votes. Its populist leader Tomio Okamura, a Czech-Japanese businessman, ran a low-budget campaign, but made enough controversial statements to make headlines. The Christian Democratic Union and Czech People's Party (KDU-CSL) also made the 5-percent threshold, returning to the parliament after 3 and half years. The early elections were supposed to bring stability and a government of strength to the Czech Republic. But building a coalition will be extremely difficult for any party, and even a best case scenario would require a minimum of three parties, most likely from different sides of politics, meaning such a government will be fractious and difficult to lead.