Sawt Falasteen - Czechs vote in two-day election with billionaire ex-premier tipped to come first

A possible return to power of the billionaire ex-premier could draw the Czech Republic -- an ally of Ukraine -- closer to EU mavericks Hungary and Slovakia and turn relations with both Kyiv and Brussels rocky.

Babis is campaigning in the EU and NATO member of 11 million people on pledges of welfare and halting military aid to Ukraine.

Many voters blame the centre-right coalition government of Prime Minister Petr Fiala for ignoring problems at home while providing aid to Ukraine.

Casting his ballot in the eastern city of Ostrava, Babis labelled the vote as a showdown between him and Fiala.

"Nothing is certain, we haven't won yet," the 71-year-old said.

Babis's ANO ("Yes") party tops the opinion polls, with support exceeding 30 percent, ahead of Fiala's Together grouping with about 20 percent.

- 'U-turn' -

Casting her ballot at a Prague school, librarian Magdalena Servitova, 50, told AFP she would "hate a U-turn that would take us somewhere else".

"I would like our policy vis-a-vis Ukraine to continue as well, we should not turn our backs on Ukraine," she said.

Prague driver Vaclav Nikl, 65, told AFP he would expect "a better life than now" after the election.

Polling stations were opened from 1200 GMT to 2000 GMT on Friday. They are due to reopen from 0600 to 1200 GMT on Saturday.

Election results were expected late Saturday.

Describing himself as a "peacemonger" calling for a truce in Ukraine, Babis has vowed a "Czechs first" approach -- echoing US President Donald Trump.

While he was prime minister from 2017 to 2021, Babis was critical of some EU policies and is on good terms with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Slovakia's Robert Fico, who have maintained ties with Moscow despite its invasion of Ukraine.

Fiala, a 61-year-old former political science professor, said the vote was "deciding the direction of the Czech Republic".

It will decide "whether we head into the past or into the future, whether our path goes east or west," he said after casting his ballot in the second Czech city of Brno.

- 'Pro-Russian propaganda' -

But Charles University analyst Josef Mlejnek told AFP he did not expect "a fundamental change" if Babis wins.

"Babis is a pragmatic businessman and the only thing he cares about is being prime minister," he added.

Analysts caution, however, that all will depend on the election results.

If Babis's party comes first but fails to win a majority, he could try to pursue a coalition with the far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD), which is expected to gain about 12 percent, according to surveys.

US factchecking organisation American Sunlight Project reported on Friday that SPD has spent thousands of dollars on online ads without the necessary disclosures, more than 10 times the amount of Babis's and Fiala's parties on such ads.

The group examined records of ads up to September 24, 2025, starting from 2019.

A group of analysts also said last week that Czech-language accounts on TikTok reaching millions of viewers "systematically spread pro-Russian propaganda and support anti-system parties through manipulated engagement".

The European Commission held an "emergency meeting" with TikTok on Thursday "in the context of the Czech elections", after which the social media platform removed "several bots", commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said.

J.AbuShaban--SF-PST