A two-day Czech presidential election begins on Friday, with 8.3 million citizens eligible to vote. Opinion polls suggest a tight race between billionaire and populist ex-prime minister Andrej Babiš, former army general Petr Pavel and economics professor Danuse Nerudova. The polling stations in the EU and NATO member state open at 2 pm (1300 GMT) and close at the same time on Saturday. If none of the eight candidates receive an absolute majority, as is expected, a run-off second round follows in two weeks. The Czech president’s powers include appointing constitutional judges and having the rig…