Czechs vote in election that could return Babis to power

Czechs began voting on Friday in a two-day election that could bring back populist billionaire Andrej Babis as Prime Minister.

Polls show Babis's ANO party leading Prime Minister Petr Fiala's center-right coalition. Analysts expect ANO to win the most seats but fall short of a majority in the 200-seat parliament.

At stake is the country's future role in the EU and NATO. The current government has been one of Kyiv's strongest backers. It sent weapons, pressed for sanctions, and launched the "Czech initiative" to source artillery rounds for Ukraine.

Babis has promised to end that project. 

"We don't have the money here for our people. Our program is for a better life for Czech citizens... We are not in Ukraine," he said in a debate this week.

The vote comes after years of inflation and falling real incomes. The Czech Republic endured one of the deepest drops in living standards in Europe since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. That weakened support for Fiala's coalition, which focused on cutting the deficit.

Babis has pledged to raise wages and boost growth. His message resonates in industrial towns hit by factory closures and rising costs. No Czech government has won a second term since 1996. Pollsters say that pattern could continue. ANO's strained ties with Spolu mean Babis may need backing from fringe parties to govern.

Those parties include the far-right SPD and the far-left Stacilo!, both pushing to leave NATO and the EU. Babis rejects that step.

Security officials are also watching the online space. Online Risk Labs, a local watchdog, flagged 286 TikTok accounts spreading pro-Russia narratives. The group said the accounts gained five to nine million views per week. That surpasses the reach of many mainstream leaders.

"The accounts do not align with a single political entity, but rather demonstrate support for multiple radical and extremist parties simultaneously," the group said.

The Czech telecom regulator said it forwarded complaints about the accounts to the European Commission. TikTok said it is cooperating with authorities.

Polls are open until Saturday afternoon. Results are expected later that day.

For Czech voters, the choice is clear: stay the course with Brussels and Kyiv, or return to Babis and a more cautious path on Ukraine. Online, the fight for influence is still unfolding.