Czechs are voting in Saturday's presidential election to choose Milos Zeman's successor in office, AP reports.

Billionaire Andrej Babis leads among eight candidates in the two days of voting that will end Saturday.

Babis, a former prime minister, was acquitted this week in a fraud case, boosting his chances of winning the first round of the presidential election.

If neither candidate wins a majority of votes, polls show, the two leading candidates will face each other in a second round in two weeks.

On Monday, a court in Prague acquitted Babish, 68, of fraud charges in a $2 million EU subsidy case. The prosecution could still appeal. Babis has pleaded not guilty and has repeatedly said the charges against him were politically motivated.

Despite a number of scandals, his support among the population remains high, especially among older voters.

Retired Army General Petr Pavel, 61, former chairman of the NATO Military Committee, and Danuse Nerudova, a 44-year-old former university rector and economist, are Babiš's main rivals.

Polls show that none of the remaining candidates is likely to make it into the second round.