The main opposition party in the Czech Republic, the ANO (YES) movement led by former populist Prime Minister Andrej Babis, dominated the regional elections and was ahead in the first round of voting for Parliament’s upper house. ANO won 10 out of the 13 regions contested in the election and has the most candidates advancing to the runoffs for 27 seats in the 81-seat Senate. The top two finishers in each district will face each other in a head-to-head vote next weekend, with ANO having 19 candidates advancing to the runoffs.
The Czech Statistics Office reported that five candidates reached the 50% threshold to win seats outright, leaving 22 seats to be decided in the runoffs next week between the top two finishers in each race. Among the outright winners were two candidates from ANO, one from the Christian Democrats, a member of the governing five-party coalition, an independent representing the coalition, and an opposition Social Democrat. Government lawmakers currently hold a clear majority in the Senate, which plays an important role in passing constitutional amendments and approving Constitutional Court judges.
Parliament’s lower house is more powerful than the Senate, but the upper house still plays a significant role in the legislative process. The elections in the Czech Republic took place amidst the aftermath of massive floods that hit Central Europe, resulting in at least 24 deaths, with five of them occurring in the Czech Republic. Despite the challenging circumstances, the election results reflected stable support for ANO, which has maintained its dominance in past regional elections and secured a boost for Babis ahead of next year’s general election.
As the election results were released, it was noted that over 50 countries around the world would be going to the polls in 2024, indicating a global trend of political engagement and democratic processes. The Czech Republic’s electoral outcomes will have implications for the country’s governance and political landscape moving forward. With ANO’s strong showing in the regional elections and the upper house runoff, the party, led by former Prime Minister Babis, continues to play a significant role in Czech politics, setting the stage for future developments in the country’s political arena. The upcoming general election in 2022 will be closely watched to determine the next steps in the Czech Republic’s governance and leadership.
