Senators affiliated with the Czech government parties, the Civic Democrats (ODS), TOP 09, the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL), and Mayors and Independents (STAN), will probably have a majority of at least 59 seats in the 81-seat Senate, despite gains by the opposition ANO and losses for ODS in the weekend elections.
ANO won the Senate elections for the first time, winning eight of the 27 seats contested – two in the first round and another six in the weekend’s final round today, while candidates of the government coalition parties won 15 seats.
In the remaining seats, candidates of the Social Democrats (SOCDEM), SEN 21 and Prisaha were elected, along with the only independent candidate, Stanislav Balik.
The coalition groups may lose their super majority in two years, however, when 22 of their senators will be defending their seats, compared to only one for ANO.
Despite the shrinking of the ODS and TOP 09 senator group from 36 to 29 members, it may still remain the largest group with the right to nominate the speaker, if TOP 09 nominees Pavel Fischer and Bretislav Rychlik also join the group. It is therefore probable that Milos Vystrcil (ODS) will remain the head of the upper house.
Moreover, Jiri Drahos will remain as first vice-speaker of the Senate for STAN, which defended all six of its seats and will remain the second strongest group with 18 members. KDU-CSL should continue to have at least 12 members, as it lost one sitting Senator but won another seat.
The joint ANO and SOCDEM group may be the third strongest in the Senate for the first time in history with at least 13 members, and ANO may have a seat in the Senate leadership for the first time.
However, this group will have to find a new chair, as its current head Miroslav Adamek (for ANO) was defeated in Sumperk by independent candidate Stanislav Balik, a municipal representative for ODS who could thus strengthen the ODS/TOP 09 group.
In addition to Fischer, Jana Zwyrtek Hamplova (for Independents) and Daniela Kovarova (unaffiliated) are now among the senators who have not joined any group. Newly elected Senator for Breclav Robert Slachta, leader of the extra-parliamentary Prisaha, may become another Senator who does not sit with any group.
Out of the 23 senators who were defending their seats this year, 13 were unsuccessful, including former presidential candidate Marek Hilser, who was running with his own movement with support of the Pirates. Ten senators were re-elected, three of them in the first round. The remaining four, including Education Minister Mikulas Bek (STAN), did not seek re-election.
As a result of the elections, the senators will have to find a new chair of the European affairs committee to replace Vladislav Vilimec (ODS) and a new head of the commission for monitoring public funds to replace outgoing Pirate senator Lukas Wagenknecht.
Adela Sipova is now the only remaining Pirate Senator, sitting in a joint group of the Pirates and SEN 21, which will probably retain the minimum of five members thanks to the re-election of Premysl Rabas (for SEN 21) in Chomutov.
Just 17.5% of voters turned out for the final round of the elections to one-third of the 81-seat Senate, which is one percentage point higher than the turnout in the previous 2018 elections held in the same wards where they took place this year.
