Former Prime Minister Andriy Babish, who is facing independent Pyotr Pavel, a retired army general and former high-ranking NATO official, in the second round of the presidential election, received an anonymous threatening letter from the billionaire who founded the Action of Dissatisfied Citizens 2011 party, dpa reported in sunday

The letter contained live ammunition and blunt insults, Babis told local news agency CTK, Agerpres reported.

Babis, a billionaire who founded the populist center-right party ANO 2011 (Action of Disaffected Citizens 2011), said such threats against a political candidate and his family should not take place in a free society.

Former prime minister Babis will face independent politician Petro Pavel, a retired army general and former senior NATO official, in the second round of presidential elections at the end of next week.

Pavel, together with other famous Czech politicians, condemned Babis’s threats.

In the Czech Republic, a parliamentary democracy, the president has mainly ceremonial duties, dpa reminds.

Public opinion polls show Pavel as the favorite, but observers believe Babis still has a chance.

In his election campaign, Babiš sharply criticized Pavel’s support for the supply of arms to Ukraine, arguing that such explicit support risks drawing the Czech Republic into a war with Russia.

Instead, Babis offered to act as a mediator in peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, which will take place in Prague, if he is elected president.