Polling stations reopened on Saturday in the Czech Republic, on the last day of the second round of the presidential election for which retired NATO general Petr Pavel remains a favorite against former billionaire prime minister Andrej Babis.
Analysts predict a high turnout for this vote, after a particularly virulent election campaign.
Petr Pavel, a former paratrooper, topped the latest opinion polls, with 58% to 59% of voting intentions, against 41% to 42% for his rival.
"
Quite frankly, if the polls are done well, I think it will be difficult for Babis to go up
," Palacky University analyst Tomas Lebeda told AFP.
The winner will replace Milos Zeman, a controversial politician, who enjoyed close ties with Moscow before flip-flopping when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
In the small town of Dobrichovice, south-west of Prague, in overcast and cool weather on Saturday morning, voter Irena Cihelkova explains to AFP that the new president will above all have to represent the country well.
"
He should be open and friendly, which is an asset for the country, and not create problems abroad like other Czech statesmen
," she said.
Voting in the northern village of Cernoucek on Friday, the former general said he wanted to be "
a worthy president
" of an EU and NATO member country with 10.5 million people. 'inhabitants.
"
I'm not going to make empty promises but I will describe the reality as it is
," he added.
Babis, 68, whose wealth and legal worries have made him a divisive figure, called the vote a "
referendum on Babis
", casting his ballot in Pruhonice, south of Prague.
In the first round, during which eight candidates were in contention, Pavel had beaten Babis, obtaining 35.4% of the vote against 35%.
And it has since benefited from the carryover of the votes of some eliminated competitors.
Babis can count on stable support from voters in his populist center-left ANO movement but, according to experts, he discouraged voters with chaotic rants during the debates.
The campaign between the two rounds was bitter, with a wave of disinformation largely targeting Pavel, and death threats targeting Babis and his family.
In a hoax launched on the internet, then relayed by SMS, it was even claimed that Petr Pavel was dead.
Although his role is essentially ceremonial in the Czech Republic, the head of state appoints the government, chooses the governor of the central bank and the constitutional judges, and assumes supreme command of the armed forces.
Former para vs billionaire
Petr Pavel, 61, is a hero of the war in the former Yugoslavia during which he notably helped to free French soldiers.
He then became chief of the Czech staff and that of NATO's military committee.
The two rivals had been members of the Communist Party in the 1980s, when Czechoslovakia was under the political tutelage of Moscow.
Andrej Babis, owner of the agro-food, chemical and media group Agrofert, is the fifth Czech fortune, according to Forbes magazine.
Prime Minister from 2017 to 2021, he caused controversy last week by declaring that he would not send Czech troops if other NATO member states, Poland or the Baltic States, were attacked.
Remarks on which he later returned but which aroused criticism in the region.
Independent political analyst Jan Kubacek said the election would not lead to a change in Czech foreign policy, regardless of who wins.
"
The Czech Republic will remain pro-Western
," he told AFP.
