Prague (AFP) - Polling ended Saturday in the first round of the Czech presidential election with a billionaire, a general and an academic vying for spots in a likely run-off later this month.
The winner will replace Milos Zeman, an outspoken and divisive political veteran, following a period marked by the country's 2022 EU presidency as the war in Ukraine raged.
The victor will face record inflation in the central European country of 10.5 million people, as well as bulging public finance deficits related to the war in Ukraine.
Results of the first-round pitting eight candidates are expected around 1600 GMT on Saturday.
Unless a candidate wins more than 50 percent outright -- which is considered unlikely -- the two top-placed contenders will go head-to-head in a second round on January 27-28.
Populist ex-prime minister Andrej Babis, retired general Petr Pavel and university professor Danuse Nerudova are vying to become only the fourth president since the Czech Republic was founded in 1993 following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Casting her ballot at a school in Prague, Alina Kravchuk, a longtime Ukrainian resident of Prague, said the new president should be above all "honest and unimpeachable".
She added that like the Czech government, the country's new leader should also promote help for Ukraine, which has been battling a Russian invasion for almost a year.
"We're Slavic nations, we are close to each other and as close nations we should help each other in these difficult times," Kravchuk told AFP.
Business tycoon and former prime minister Babis, 68, is the fifth wealthiest person in the Czech Republic, according to Forbes magazine.
Pavel, 61, is a former paratrooper who was decorated as a hero of the Serbo-Croatian war during which he helped free French troops from a war zone.
He went on to become the chief of the Czech general staff and chair of NATO's military committee.
Nerudova, the youngest frontrunner at 44, has a strong focus on social issues and is largely counting on the backing of younger voters.
- 'More of a diplomat' -
Voting in his home village of Cernoucek, north of Prague, Pavel said the main goal was to restore the dignity of the presidential office after Zeman's 10 years in office.
"We should also establish normal communication and try to achieve results not through confrontation but by cooperation," he added.
Babis, voting in Pruhonice just south of Prague, said he was counting on his political experience to carry him to victory.
"I know most presidents.And my advantage is that I know what all ministries are dealing with," he added.
Nerudova relished the experience as she voted in the southern town of Kurim.
"For me, it is already a success because no woman has been in this position before and I am glad that it will serve as an example to all young people that it makes sense to get involved," she said.
Polls suggest that both Pavel and Nerudova would beat Babis if they face him in the second round.
Five candidates -- two senators, a far-right lawmaker, a former university rector and an entrepreneur -- trail behind the top three favourites.
The Czech president's role is largely ceremonial, but the head of state names the government, picks the governor of the central bank and constitutional judges, and serves as top commander of the armed forces.
But Zeman, a controversial politician who once confessed to a daily diet of six glasses of wine and three shots of spirits, repeatedly exploited loopholes in the constitution to increase his influence.
Following a busy Friday at polling stations, Saturday morning was much slower in turnout with the odd dog-walker or shopper showing up at a school in central Prague.
Voter Anna Nina Schumannova said she expected the new president "to be more of a diplomat" than Zeman.
"He or she should be reliable, think of all people, make our country flourish and develop, ensure peace and make our children happy," she told AFP.
