Czech leader to ask election winner Babis to form government

PRAGUE – The Czech president is set to ask populist billionaire Andrej Babis, whose ANO movement won parliamentary elections, to try to form a new government.

Babis' movement won 78 seats in the lower house of Parliament on Saturday. He needs coalition partners to govern with a parliamentary majority.

Eight other parties and groups won seats, including the anti-migrant and anti-EU party Freedom and Direct Democracy, which finished fourth.

Babis has indicated he would like to rule with the conservative Civic Democratic Party that finished second with 25 seats.

But the Civic Democrats and other parties consider Babis unsuitable to lead the government because he faces charges of fraud linked to EU subsidies.