Senate and municipal elections 2026
A year after elections to the Chamber of Deputies, on October 9 and 10 the Czech Republic will hold municipal elections as well as elections for one-third of the members of the Senate, the upper chamber of the Czech Parliament. For the current governing coalition, led by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and his party ANO, this will be the first test of its popularity since its victory in last year’s elections.
In the 2020 elections (senators are elected for six-year terms), ANO won only one of the 27 seats being contested. Winning even five seats, for example, would therefore strengthen the coalition’s position. (One-third of the senators are elected every two years). The most recent Senate elections were held in autumn 2024, when ANO won eight seats.
This time, the greatest attention will be focused on the capital. A peculiarity of the administrative and electoral system is that Prague has the administrative status of a region, while elections to the Prague City Assembly are conducted under the law on municipal assemblies. The current mayor, Bohuslav Svoboda of the Civic Democratic Party, is not seeking re-election. Mayors and other municipal leaders are not elected directly by citizens; instead, the municipal assemblies elect the highest-ranking representatives of cities and municipalities.
Election coverage:
latest articles
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Elections 2026
What Czechia’s local election results mean for Andrej Babiš’s government
Political scientist Vladimíra Dvořáková explains what Czechia’s local elections reveal about ANO, the opposition and the governing coalition.
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Elections 2026
Christian Democrats most successful party in local elections, Mayors triumph in Prague
The Christian Democrats won the most seats in municipal elections . The Mayors and Independents won in Prague, while ANO came first in six regional capitals.
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Elections 2026
Votes being counted in first round of elections to Czech Senate
The first round of elections to one-third of the seats in the upper chamber of the Czech Parliament, the Senate, took place on Friday and Saturday.
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Elections 2026
“It’s a political mistake”: Czech president to miss local elections over private holiday
President Pavel has come in for criticism after his office announced that he will not vote in local elections on Friday and Saturday because he is on a private holiday.
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Elections 2026
Pundit on elections: It seems Babiš finally realises importance of Senate
Czechs go to the ballots in a week’s time for municipal elections and elections to one-third of the seats in the Senate. How significant will the latter be for ANO?
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Elections 2026
“It’s actually very simple”: How EU citizens can vote in Czechia’s local elections
In a fortnight’s time, voters will be going to the polls in Czechia in local and Senate elections. EU citizens may be unaware they can also take part in the former.
