Czech elections 2025: a record number of women elected to parliament
In the newly elected Czech Chamber of Deputies, nearly one-third of the members will be women - a historic high for the country. What role did preferential voting play in boosting female candidates? And how significant is this shift compared to previous elections?
In last weekend’s Czech parliamentary elections (October 3–4, 2025), 67 women were elected to the Chamber of Deputies - the highest number ever in Czech history. Women will now make up roughly one-third (33.5%) of the 200-member Lower House of Parliament. For the first time, the proportion of women elected exceeded their representation on the candidate lists. This milestone was largely driven by preferential votes cast for female candidates.
These insights, among others, come from an analysis by Fórum 50 % - a non-profit organization committed to promoting a balanced representation of women and men in politics and leadership roles. Radio Prague International spoke with Veronika Šprincová, an analyst and former director of Fórum 50%, about the election outcome.
A record number of women was elected to the Czech Chamber of Deputies. How significant is this shift compared to previous elections?
“It's a great shift and we're really grateful that we are catching up with other member states of the European Union because we were really lagging behind for a long time in this respect. But there is a big ‘but’ – like in the previous elections, this record number was caused by preferential voting. Overall, 23 deputies were elected thanks to preferential voting, which is quite a lot I would say.”
Preferential voting
In Czech parliamentary elections, voters not only choose their preferred party but can also give up to four preferential votes to individual candidates on their chosen party’s list. If a candidate receives enough preferential votes, they can move ahead of others on the list and secure a seat in Parliament. This process is nicknamed “kroužkování” (circling), as voters physically circle the numbers of the candidates they want to support.
Are there other electoral systems that can more effectively promote a balanced representation of women and men in politics?
“I think the electoral system as such is OK. And we can see that if voters really want to send a message towards political parties, they can do so. They did so in the previous elections, and also in elections in the elections in 2010. In this year’s elections, we saw the most preferential voting ever, I would say, at least when it comes to the representation of men and women, in which it was most effective this year.
Without preferential voting, there would be only 24.5% of women, which would be less than in previous periods. So I think this is important to point out.
From our perspective, the simplest and most effective solution would be to implement gender quotas on electoral lists. This would help ensure balanced representation of men and women—at least in the top positions on the list, which are the most likely to be elected.”
In your experience, who and why is most likely to give preferential votes to women?
“I think that people are really disappointed by the fact that political parties are still offering the same kind of candidates, which means middle-aged white men and older men - this old boys club. Therefore, I think that especially young people are willing to change the results by preferential voting.
"Without preferential voting, there would be only 24.5% of women, which would be less than in previous periods."
Veronika Šprincová
In this election, we could see that not only women, but also younger candidates were supported through preferential votes.
I would say that young people, young women and women in general benefited the most from preferential voting in these elections.”
Results in numbers
How does female representation vary across different political parties? What are the statistics?
“The highest percentage of women - and it's really a huge number - is in the Pirate Party. In their case, the preferential voting really had a big impact on the representation of women and men in politics. The majority of the pirate party club will be women. In numbers, it means that 15 deputies will be women, and in percentage, it's 83.3%.
The Mayors and Independents (STAN) will have 13 women deputies, which is 59.1%.
The Freedom and Direct Democracy Party (SPD) will have 5 female deputies, which is one-third of the whole political club.
The ANO party will have 21 female deputies, which is 26.3%.
The outgoing coalition Spolu (Together) will have 11 female deputies, which is 21.2%.
And the lowest representation is within the newly elected party, the Motorists, who will have only two female deputies, which makes 15.4%.”
Impact
Do you think the high number of women in certain parties will have any impact - particularly on policies?
"The results are an important impulse for us, as we can see that the public and voters really want to see more balanced politics."
Veronika Šprincová
“Yes, I think so. Well, of course, it also depends on the political party. But we can see that there are women represented across all political parties. We often emphasize that the value of having both men and women represented in politics lies in bringing diverse life experiences into the decision-making process. And, for example, in the last election period, menstrual products were discussed - whether they should be taxed highly or not taxed at all, whether they should be accessible for free and in public places and so on. So in this issue, it is really necessary to have women at the table because, of course, it is an issue that is more relevant to women and they have more experience with it.”
Future developments
What are Fórum 50%'s priorities going forward to build on this momentum - if we can call it that - and continue advancing balanced gender representation in Czech politics?
“The results are an important impulse for us, as we can see that the public and voters really want to see more balanced politics. It means that we will continue advocating for gender quotas because we think it's really important. We can see from the statistics that some parties are more open to nominate women than others, and that some parties’ voters are more willing to support women than others. Therefore, we will be advocating for legislative gender quotas, which would be binding for all parties which run in the elections.
We will also continue to support women's rights, because we know that they still have to overcome various obstacles, including gender-based hate speech and so on. We will definitely continue to provide networking for women, mentoring for women, and also some training.
Veronika Šprincová is an expert in gender studies and has worked with Fórum 50% since 2009. She also chaired the Czech Gender Expert Chamber (2015-2019), which conducts gender analyses and ensures expert input to incorporate a gender perspective into both public and private sector agendas. Fórum 50% operates free from political affiliation.
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Czech Parliamentary Elections 2025
At the beginning of October, Czechs will head to the polls to elect a new Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Parliament.
