Czech opposition keeps control of Senate after governing coalition wins no seats

The governing coalition of Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis failed to win a single seat in the Senate elections that concluded on Saturday. DW, Latest news from Azerbaijan, the Washington Times, U.S. News and World Report, and the Toronto Star all reported that pro-Western opposition parties dominated the ballot, dealing a major blow to the populist leader. The vote served as the first electoral test for Babis since he returned to power after winning parliamentary elections in October 2025. [1][2][3][5][8]

Final results from the two-day ballot showed that candidates linked directly to opposition parties secured 22 of the 27 seats that were up for election in the 81-member Senate, DW reported. With those results, the pro-Western opposition maintains its overall majority in the upper house of parliament. [1]

Babis serves as the leader of the ANO 2011 political party, which he founded in 2012. He became prime minister again in December 2025, having previously served as prime minister from 2017 to 2021 and as finance minister from 2014 to 2017. As FTMQ News reported earlier, the election covered 27 Senate seats with 154 candidates standing, and no candidates from the ruling ANO party won seats outright during the first round of voting. [9][12]

The election loss leaves the Czech upper house firmly in the hands of opposition parties. This creates a legislative check on the Babis government after its return to power late last year. [1]