Mayors and Independents take most seats in 2020 Senate elections

The Mayors and Independents party has won 11 seats in the 2020 elections into the Czech Senate, the most of all parties. The Civic Democrats came in second, securing six senators, followed by the Christian Democrats who came in third with three winners in the senate elections. TOP 09 and Senator 21 both won two seats in the upper house. The ruling ANO party, as well as the Pirate Party, the Party of Free Citizens, the Hradec Democratic Club and the Mayors for the Liberec Region all secured one senator.

The elections can be seen as a victory for the Mayors and Independents, who were defending three mandates, but came out of the elections with seven extra Senate seats. This means that the party could now have the strongest club within the Czech upper house of Parliament. However, some analysts warn that this may not end up happening if the TOP 09 party, which won two new Senate positions, chooses to form its own club. Members of political movements that have fewer than five senators can also shake things up, depending on which Senate club they choose to join.

The Civic Democrats, who currently have the largest presence in the Senate, won two new senate mandates. Party leader Petr Fiala highlighted the fact that the Civic Democrats won new seats and said that he expects negotiations to take place about who will hold the position of Senate speaker. Currently, the position is held by Civic Democrat Miloš Vystrčil, who said that he will run for re-election to this position.

The Christian Democrats secured three Senate seats. Although they were defending five mandates going into the election, they remain the third largest grouping in the upper house.

Meanwhile, the Social Democrats, who went into the elections defending 10 mandates, did not manage to secure a single seat and have thus lost the ability form their own club within the Senate. The ANO party, which was defending two Senate positions, managed to secure just one seat. ANO leader Andrej Babiš said he was not following the Senate elections closely and that his party tends to fare badly when running for the Senate.

The Pirate Party won one new seat, which means it now has enough senators to form its own club if those senators elected with Pirate support choose to join.

The Green Party and the Freeholder Party of the Czech Republic, both had one candidate running for re-election, but secured no seats.

Just 15.8 percent of eligible voters chose to vote in the second round of the Senate elections, after an attendance of 36 percent in the first round. The country is currently in the midst of a second wave of the  COVID-19 epidemic.