Ruling party narrowly loses Czech vote and PM Babis may be out

Czech Republic’s Prime Minister Andrej Babis (Petr David Josek/AP)

Prime Minister Andrej Babis’ centrist party has narrowly lost the Czech Republic’s parliamentary election, a surprise development that could mean the end of the populist billionaire’s reign in power.

The two-day election to fill 200 seats in the lower house of the Czech Republic’s parliament took place shortly after the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists reported details of Mr Babis’ overseas financial dealings in a project dubbed the Pandora Papers.