Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis' ANO movement won none of the 27 seats up for grabs in the Senate election. It also lost the only seat it was defending, while pro-European opposition parties retained control of the upper house.
“We certainly didn't expect not to win a single senatorial seat in these elections,“ Babis said, calling the result “catastrophic”, the Associated Press reported. The prime minister said the defeat would not change the government's strategy.
ANO loses its only seat
The election was held in two rounds – on 9 and 10 October and on 16 and 17 October 2026. In the first round, 13 ANO candidates reached the run-off, but none of them was elected. Thus, the movement was left without a representative among the newly elected senators.
Of the 27 seats, 22 were won by candidates affiliated with opposition parties. “Mayors and Independents“ elected 10 of their 14 candidates, and the Civic Democratic Party won seven seats. Together with TOP 09, it retained the strongest senatorial group.
ANO's coalition partners also failed to win any seats. The result is the first serious electoral test for Babis since he returned to the prime minister's post after the October 2025 parliamentary elections.
Government retains its majority in the lower house
The defeat weakens the ruling party's position in the Senate but does not directly question the existence of the coalition government. The lower house remains the leading legislative body, and deputies can override Senate vetoes on ordinary laws.
However, the upper house has an important role in constitutional changes, in approving nominations for the Constitutional Court and in electing its own president. Therefore, maintaining the opposition majority limits the government's ability to impose changes in these areas alone.
Reuters described the result as a serious electoral setback for the prime minister, but noted that it is unlikely to destabilize the ruling coalition. After all the votes were counted, Babis said the government would continue to implement its program.
Sources: apnews.com, theprint.in, english.radio.cz