Czech Parliamentary Elections Open, Posing Test of Support for Kyiv
The Czech Republic opened polls on Friday for a two-day parliamentary election that could reshape the country’s political direction and influence its stance on Ukraine.
The Gaze reports this, referring to Reuters and European Pravda.
Polling stations will operate from 14:00 to 22:00 on Friday and reopen from 8:00 to 14:00 on Saturday. Preliminary results are expected on Saturday evening, followed by coalition talks beginning on Sunday.
For the first time, Czechs living abroad are also able to cast their votes by mail, without traveling to an embassy polling station.
At stake is the survival of Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s center-right government, which has been a firm backer of Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
Opinion surveys for months have been led by Andrej Babiš and his populist ANO (lit. ‘Yes’) party, projected to win over 30% of the vote – about 10 points ahead of Fiala’s Spolu coalition.
Babiš has campaigned on promises to raise wages and stimulate economic growth, but has also vowed to scale back military aid to Kyiv.
Babiš, a billionaire businessman and ally of Hungary’s Viktor Orbán within the European Parliament’s Patriots for Europe group, has distanced himself from Fiala’s pro-Ukraine line.
He has threatened to abandon the “Czech ammunition initiative,” a landmark program that has pooled international resources to secure millions of artillery shells for Ukraine’s defense.
While Babiš insists he would not seek to leave the EU or NATO, critics warn that his return to power could weaken Prague’s pro-Western course. Analysts say that even if ANO tops the vote, the party may struggle to secure a majority in the 200-seat lower house.
Its strained relations with Spolu and other mainstream parties could leave Babiš reliant on marginal, anti-EU and anti-NATO groups such as the far-right SPD and the far-left Stacilo! to form a governing majority.
Babiš himself faces personal hurdles: as the owner of a sprawling chemical and food conglomerate, he must address conflict-of-interest rules. He also stands trial on long-running EU subsidy fraud charges, which he denies.
The elections are being closely watched in Kyiv. The Czech Republic was one of the first European nations to deliver tanks and infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine, and President Petr Pavel has recently reaffirmed his support for continuing the ammunition supply initiative.
As The Gaze reported earlier, a debate erupted in the Czech Republic over the supply of ammunition to Ukraine, which the populist party calls excessive.