Czech Opposition Retains Senate Majority as Runoffs Loom

No contested facts found. The Statistics Office released final results Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, for Czech Senate voting held Oct. 9-10 on 27 seats. Five candidates cleared 50% to win outright: four from the opposition, none from Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’s ANO. ANO advanced 13 candidates to runoffs, the most of any party; opposition parties and groups advanced 26 combined. Twenty-two seats remain for runoffs the following week. In concurrent local elections, independents and local groups won almost 46,000 of 62,000 council seats. ANO took about 13.29% and 1,471 councilors, placing third, won six regional capitals—two fewer than in 2022—and did not win Prague. Former President Miloš Zeman told CNN Prima News the contests were a referendum on the government. “The Czechs are inclined to maintain balance. They have a reasonable stance that too much power should not be concentrated in one hand,” Zeman said. Babiš attributed the Prague loss to alleged media incitement against him. Runoffs next week decide the other 22 seats; Babiš’s governing partners have no candidates in them.