Czechia, national parliament (upper house) election 2026

Czechia is governed by a coalition of right-wing ANO, the far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) and the right-wing Motorists for Themselves (AUTO) under prime minister Andrej Babiš (ANO), whose cabinet was appointed on 15 December 2025. He replaced Petr Fiala (ODS), whose government resigned after ANO topped the October 2025 Chamber of Deputies election with 34.5% and 80 of 200 seats. The coalition holds 108 seats in the lower house, but in the 81-seat Senate it can count only on ANO’s 15-member club; SPD and the Motorists have no senators.

ANO’s MEPs sit with Patriots for Europe (PfE) and SPD’s with Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN); the Motorists have had no MEP since Filip Turek moved to the Chamber of Deputies. On the opposition side, the Civic Democrats (ODS) sit with the national-conservative European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR). TOP 09 and the Christian Democrats (KDU-ČSL) are members of the centre-right European People’s Party, and Mayors and Independents (STAN) sits in the centre-right EPP group. The Pirates sit in Greens/EFA, and the two MEPs elected for Stačilo! are non-attached. Our Czechia (NČ), the new movement of South Bohemian governor Martin Kuba, has no MEP.

A total of 154 candidates were registered across 27 single-member districts, the fewest since 1998, ranging from nine in Praha 1 to two in Rychnov nad Kněžnou. A candidate who wins more than half the vote is elected outright; otherwise the top two go to a run-off a week later. The STAN parliamentary group or club defends 11 of the seats, ODS–TOP 09 nine, KDU-ČSL and SEN 21–Pirates three each, and ANO just one. The four parties of the former government need only four wins to keep their Senate majority, while ANO and SPD would have to take all 27. Our Czechia (NČ) is contesting a Senate election for the first time. The first round coincides with nationwide municipal elections.