Andrej Babis's populist ANO party has secured victory in the Czech parliamentary election, capturing 34.5% of the vote and 80 seats in the 200-seat lower house.
This marks an increase from the party's previous 72 seats.
The result positions Babis, a billionaire businessman and former prime minister from 2017 to 2021, to lead negotiations for a new government.
However, ANO fell short of an outright majority, necessitating alliances with smaller parties to govern effectively.
Preliminary results show ANO outperforming Prime Minister Petr Fiala's centre-right Spolu coalition, which received 23.4% of the vote.
Babis celebrated the win as a historic success, vowing to make the Czech Republic the best place to live in the European Union.
He entered ANO headquarters with a Bluetooth speaker playing a remix of an Italian pop song, and supporters cheered as colleagues danced along.
Babis expressed a preference for a one-party ANO government supported externally by partners, rather than a formal coalition.
Forming a majority requires cooperation with right-wing eurosceptic parties like the anti-Green Deal Motorists for Themselves and the anti-immigrant Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD), led by Tomio Okamura, potentially yielding 108 seats combined.
These groups demand cabinet positions, complicating talks.
Babis shares their opposition to EU emissions targets, the ban on new petrol and diesel cars after 2035, and increased financial burdens for cleaner energy.
Relations with SPD may prove tense due to its far-right alliances and demands for referendums on EU and NATO membership, which Babis has rejected.
A Babis-led administration plans to shift focus to domestic priorities like higher wages and lower taxes, potentially increasing budget deficits.
Support for Ukraine is expected to cool, including scrapping the Czech ammunition initiative that has supplied 3.5 million shells since 2022.
Babis rejects accusations of undermining EU and NATO commitments, emphasizing past reliability.
President Petr Pavel will play a key role in appointments, hinting at refusals for ministers threatening these alliances.
Babis also faces a subsidy fraud trial and conflicts from his business empire employing 30,000 people.