Czech opposition outpaced the ruling party in first round of Senate election
The result sets up 22 Senate runoffs as pro-Western opposition coalitions advance 26 candidates and ANO sends 13, officials said.
- With all votes counted on Sunday, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš's ANO movement advanced 13 candidates to next week's Senate runoffs, while pro-Western opposition coalitions advanced 26 candidates, leaving 22 of 27 contested seats undecided.
- Babiš's governing coalition with Motorists for Themselves and Freedom and Direct Democracy has pursued policies reducing support for Ukraine and rejecting key European Union positions, making this weekend's vote a popularity test.
- Five candidates secured Senate seats outright during the first round, equalling a historic record set in 2024, according to the Czech Statistics Office. None were from ANO; four represent opposition parties.
- Independent candidates appeared to win the majority of seats nationwide in simultaneous local elections, a traditional result that contrasts with the high-stakes Senate competition.
- The opposition currently controls the 81-seat Senate, and Babiš hopes to make gains in the upper house as runoffs next week will determine final chamber composition.
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72 Articles
(London=Yonhap News) Correspondent Kim Ji-yeon = In the first round of voting for the Czech Senate election held on the 9th (local time), the pro-Western opposition [supported] right-wing populist Andrej Babiš...
Pro-Western parliamentary opposition parties and groups, which joined forces in many districts through broad coalitions, have succeeded in bringing a total of 26 candidates to the next round, compared with 13 in Babis
A result that reveals the weaknesses of the ruling coalition
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis' ANO party faced a tough challenge in the first round of the Senate elections held over the weekend, in a vote that was seen as a gauge of public support for his government. Czechs voted on Friday and Saturday to elect local representatives, as well as a third of the Senate. According to the Czech Statistical Office, 154 candidates ran for 27 Senate seats, Telegrafi reports. Only five candidates managed to secur…
Czech PM Babiš's ANO faces stiff test in Senate election
“Five senators were elected in the first round, equalling the historic record set in 2024,” Eva Krumpová, first deputy chair of the Czech Statistics Office, said. Of the five candidates to win seats outright, none were from the ANO.
The liberal and conservative opposition in the Czech Republic achieved a surprising success in yesterday's elections for the Senate, the upper house of the Czech parliament.
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