Sawt Falasteen - Billionaire ex-PM and retired NATO general in Czech presidential run-off

Pavel scored 35.4 percent, just ahead of Babis with 35.0 percent, while economist Danuse Nerudova came in third with 13.9 percent, according to near-complete results from the Czech Statistical Office.

None of the five other candidates earned more than seven percent.

Babis and Pavel now enter a run-off on January 27-28 in a bid to become only the fourth president since the Czech Republic was founded in 1993 following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The winner will replace Milos Zeman, an outspoken and divisive political veteran, following a period marked by the country's 2022 EU presidency as the war in Ukraine raged.

The new head of state will face record inflation in the central European country of 10.5 million people, as well as bulging public finance deficits related to the Ukraine conflict.

Business tycoon and former prime minister Babis, 68, is the fifth wealthiest person in the Czech Republic, according to Forbes magazine.

Pavel, 61, is a former paratrooper who was decorated as a hero of the Serbo-Croatian war during which he helped free French troops from a war zone.

He went on to become the chief of the Czech general staff and chair of NATO's military committee.

- 'More of a diplomat' -

Pavel greeted his team in a co-working space in Prague's historic centre to loud cheers as TV footage showed he moved ahead of Babis just before the end of the vote count.

"I'm very happy, everyone can see that," said the typically serious Pavel, with a small smile.

"I think I would smile much more if the difference were, say, 10 percent, but this margin is so thin that I can now see the hard work for the second round rather than a reason to celebrate," he added.

In a restaurant at the headquarters of his sprawling Agrofert food, media and chemicals holding, Babis was quick to kick off his second-round campaign right after the vote.

He congratulated Pavel on the first-round victory but added the winner "lied in debates" and "did not do anything for our country".

Babis also said he feared a smear campaign from "journalists allied with Pavel" and likened the general -- who had once pondered a career in military intelligence -- to Russian President Vladimir Putin, a former agent of the KGB secret service.

Polls suggested before the election that Pavel would beat Babis if he faced him in the second round.

The Czech president's role is largely ceremonial, but the head of state names the government, picks the central bank governor and constitutional judges, and serves as top commander of the armed forces.

Prague voter Anna Nina Schumannova said she expected the new president "to be more of a diplomat" than Zeman.

"He or she should be reliable, think of all people, make our country flourish and develop, ensure peace and make our children happy," she told AFP.

P.Tamimi--SF-PST