Czechs vote in election that could return populist and weaken support for Ukraine

PRAGUE (AP) — Czechs were voting Friday in a two-day general election that could steer the country away from supporting Ukraine and toward Hungary and Slovakia, threatening to further divide the European Union and NATO.

Billionaire Andrej Babiš is predicted to be the latest populist leader in Central Europe to stage a political comeback. Opinion polls put the former prime minister on course for victory over a pro-Western coalition, led by Petr Fiala, that defeated him in 2021.

“We’ll succeed if we win and are able to create a one-party government,” Babiš said outside a polling station in the eastern city of Ostrava.

A victory for Babiš would be a boost for Viktor Orbán of Hungary and Robert Fico of Slovakia, whose countries have refused to provide military aid to Ukraine, continue to import Russian oil and oppose sanctions on Russia.

After voting in the second largest city of Brno, Fiala said security and prosperity are at stake. “If we move to the East, our country gets poorer,” he said.

Last year, Babiš and Orbán co-founded a new alliance in the European Parliament — “Patriots for Europe" — which marked a significant shift from the liberal Renew group that Babiš previously belonged to.

Patriots for Europe represent Babiš's rejection of European Union policies on migration and climate change and support for the protection of national sovereignty.

Babiš has denied sharing the pro-Russian stance of many members of the group, but questioned a Czech initiative that uses the country’s long-term global contacts to acquire artillery shells for Ukraine on markets outside the EU. He has also refused to fully endorse a NATO commitment to significantly increase defense spending.

Babiš has been a divisive figure since he joined Czech national politics in 2013. A member of the Communist Party before the anti-Communist 1989 Velvet Revolution in the former Czechoslovakia, he has drawn comparisons to U.S. President Donald Trump and faces fraud charges in a case involving EU subsidies. His scandals have not harmed his popular support.

His populist ANO (YES) movement, which he defined as a “catch-all” party, lost the parliamentary election in October 2021 after a turbulent term including the COVID-19 pandemic. A coalition of five parties formed a new government.

Babiš would prefer to rule alone, but polls predict he could win with some 30% vote. That would be about 10% more than Fiala’s coalition but not enough to form a majority government.

He has ruled out cooperation with any of the parties that have been in the government after the 2021 election.

His potential partners include two coalitions that are openly pro-Russian and want to lead the country out of the EU and NATO. Babiš declared that was not his intention. Another potential ally, a right-wing group calling itself the Motorists that is backed by former Euro-skeptic President Václav Klaus, has vowed to reject the EU’s environment policies.

Polls close on Saturday at 1200 GMT and the results will be known later in the day.

CAPTION CORRECTS LOCATION - People wait in line at a polling station for a general election at a poling station in Brno, Czech Republic, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Chairman of opposition "ANO" (YES) movement Andrej Babis casts his ballot for a general election at a polling station in Ostrava, Czech Republic, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

A dog waits at a polling station in Ostrava, Czech Republic, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Czech Republic's Prime Minister and leader of coalition of three conservative parties called "Together" Petr Fiala casts his ballot at a polling station for a general election in Brno, Czech Republic, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Chairman of opposition "ANO" (YES) movement Andrej Babis speaks to the media after casting his ballot for a general election at a polling station in Ostrava, Czech Republic, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

People sit by election posters ahead of Parliamentary elections in Prague, Czech Republic, Sept. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Chairman of opposition "ANO" (YES) movement Andrej Babis talks to his supporters during a rally ahead of Parliamentary elections in Prague, Czech Republic, Sept. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

People sit by election posters ahead of Parliamentary elections in Prague, Czech Republic, Sept. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Czech Republic's Prime Minister and leader of coalition of three conservative parties called "Together" Petr Fiala talks to his supporters during a rally ahead of Parliamentary elections in Prague, Czech Republic, Sept. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Chairman of opposition "ANO" (YES) movement Andrej Babis talks to his supporters during a rally ahead of Parliamentary elections in Prague, Czech Republic, Sept. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado was at the White House on Thursday discussing her country's future with President Donald Trump even after he publicly dismissed her credibility to take over after an audacious U.S. military raid captured then-President Nicolás Maduro.

Trump has raised doubts about his stated commitment to backing democratic rule in Venezuela. His administration has signaled its willingness to work with acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who was Maduro’s vice president and, along with others in the deposed leader’s inner circle, remains in charge of day-to-day governmental operations.

In endorsing Rodríguez so far, Trump has sidelined Machado, who has long been a face of resistance in Venezuela and sought to cultivate relationships with Trump and key administration voices like Secretary of State Marco Rubio among the American right wing in a gamble to ally herself with the U.S. government.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump was expecting a positive discussion during the lunchtime meeting and called Machado “a remarkable and brave voice” for the people of Venezuela.

The White House said Machado sought the face-to-face meeting without setting expectations for what would occur. Her party is widely believed to have won 2024 elections rejected by Maduro. Machado previously offered to share with Trump the Nobel Peace Prize she won last year, an honor he has coveted.

Leavitt said Trump is committed to seeing Venezuela hold elections “one day,” but wouldn’t say when that might happen.

Machado plans to have a meeting at the Senate later Thursday. Trump has called her “a nice woman” while indicating they might not touch on major issues in their talks Thursday.

Her Washington swing began after U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says had ties to Venezuela. It is part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil after U.S. forces seized Maduro and his wife at a heavily guarded compound in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas and brought them to New York to stand trial on drug trafficking charges.

The White House says Venezuela has been fully cooperating with the Trump administration since Maduro’s ouster.

Rodríguez, the acting president, herself has adopted a less strident position toward Trump and his “America First” policies toward the Western Hemisphere, saying she plans to continue releasing prisoners detained under Maduro — a move thought to have been made at the behest of the Trump administration. Venezuela released several Americans this week.

Trump, a Republican, said Wednesday that he had a “great conversation” with Rodríguez, their first since Maduro was ousted.

“We had a call, a long call. We discussed a lot of things,” Trump said during an Oval Office bill signing. “And I think we’re getting along very well with Venezuela.”

Even before indicating the willingness to work with Venezuela's interim government, Trump was quick to snub Machado. Just hours after Maduro's capture, Trump said of Machado that “it would be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country.”

Machado has steered a careful course to avoid offending Trump, notably after winning last year’s Nobel Peace Prize, which Trump wanted to win himself. She has since thanked Trump. Her offer to share the peace prize with him was rejected by the Nobel Institute.

Machado’s whereabouts have been largely unknown since she went into hiding early last year after being briefly detained in Caracas. She briefly reappeared in Oslo, Norway, in December after her daughter received the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf.

The industrial engineer and daughter of a steel magnate began challenging the ruling party in 2004, when the nongovernmental organization she co-founded, Súmate, promoted a referendum to recall then-President Hugo Chávez. The initiative failed, and Machado and other Súmate executives were charged with conspiracy.

A year later, she drew the anger of Chávez and his allies again for traveling to Washington to meet President George W. Bush. A photo showing her shaking hands with Bush in the Oval Office lives in the collective memory. Chávez considered Bush an adversary.

Almost two decades later, she marshaled millions of Venezuelans to reject Chávez’s successor, Maduro, for another term in the 2024 election. But ruling party-loyal electoral authorities declared him the winner despite ample credible evidence to the contrary. Ensuing anti-government protests ended in a brutal crackdown by state security forces.

Garcia Cano reported from Caracas, Venezuela, and Janetsky from Mexico City. AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

FILE - U.S. President George Bush, right, meets with Maria Corina Machado, executive director of Sumate, a non-governmental organization that defends Venezuelan citizens' political rights, in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, May 31, 2005. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

FILE - Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gestures to supporters during a protest against President Nicolas Maduro the day before his inauguration for a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, file)