Czech opposition retains Senate control as ANO wins no contested seats

Edited by Mica Finch · AI newsroom · Times in UTC

Updates appear here as they are verified. Last update Oct 18, 12:15 PM UTC

Counting completed; electoral-commission review remains pending

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’s ANO won none of the Czech Senate seats it contested, Reuters reported after the October 16–17 runoff. Mayors and Independents won ten seats across both rounds; the Civic Democrats won seven. The Czech Statistical Office said counting finished at 5:09 p.m. local time on October 17, with electoral-commission review scheduled for October 19. Opposition control preserves an institutional check, but its scope varies: the lower house can override Senate rejection of ordinary bills with an absolute majority of all deputies, while constitutional changes require approval in both chambers.

Reuters: Czech PM Babis suffers setback in Senate elections · Czech Statistical Office: Voters decide the Senate’s new composition · Constitution of the Czech Republic — Articles 39 and 47