Populist Czech PM Babis goes empty-handed in Senate elections

The ruling coalition of populist billionaire Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis has failed to win a single seat in elections in the Senate.

The result means pro-Western opposition parties control the chamber, the upper house of parliament.

The election on Saturday was the first electoral test for Babis after he won parliamentary elections in October 2025 that returned him to power after a break of four years since his first term as premier.

What happened in the Czech Senate elections?

Final results from the two-day ballot showed that candidates directly linked to the opposition parties won 22 of the 27 seats up for grabs in the 81-member Senate, retaining a previous opposition majority.

The centrist ANO (or YES) movement led by Babis failed to win any more seats, leaving it with 14 Senate lawmakers.

Babis called the result "catastrophic."

"We certainly didn't expect that we wouldn't win a single Senate seat in this election," he said, but vowed to nonetheless go ahead with his government's agenda.

That includes an unpopular plan to revamp funding for the country’s public broadcasters.

His euroskeptic coalition has also ended direct military support for Ukraine as it defends itself against a Russian invasion, and opposed European Union policies to combat global warming.

Although the lower house of the Czech parliament plays the main legislative role, the Senate has a big say in passing constitutional amendments and approving Constitutional Court judges.

Edited by: Karl Sexton