Czech Governing Parties Win No Senate Seats for First Time as Opposition Holds Majority

Opposition parties retained control of the Czech Senate after the second round of elections on Saturday, October 17. For the first time in the country’s history, no governing party won a single seat. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’s ANO movement failed to elect any of its 13 candidates who reached the runoff. Its caucus will drop from 15 to 14 seats.

The Mayors and Independents (STAN) party won ten of the 14 seats it contested, including two decided in the first round a week earlier. The Civic Democrats (ODS) won seven seats while defending five. The Christian Democrats held their three seats and TOP 09 held its two. The Pirates lost their remaining representation. Turnout in the second round was 21.12 percent, the highest for a Senate runoff since 2010. One-third of the 81-seat chamber was contested.

Babiš called the result catastrophic. ANO had hoped to reduce the opposition majority that can delay legislation and block constitutional amendments. The party performed better in the first round in some districts but collapsed in the runoffs, a pattern Babiš himself had anticipated. STAN candidates included former army chief of staff Karel Řehka. ODS elected Zuzana Ceralová Petrofová, head of the PETROF piano firm and the only woman elected this cycle.

The Senate is elected by direct vote in single-member districts. A candidate needs more than 50 percent in the first round or wins the runoff between the top two. Low turnout is typical. The outcome leaves the eurosceptic coalition government, which includes right-wing and far-right partners, without new leverage in the upper house. Municipal elections the previous weekend had already shown mixed results for ANO.

Opposition leaders described the vote as a rejection of the government’s performance. The chamber’s composition will not change dramatically in overall balance, but the complete shutout of governing parties is unprecedented. Whether the result influences the next national elections will depend on how voters interpret the Senate signal against the government’s broader agenda.