Czech PM Babis's coalition wins no seats in Senate election

The governing coalition of Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, a populist billionaire, did not win any seats in Saturday's Senate election, the vote for the upper house of the country's parliament. As a result, pro-Western opposition parties continue to control the chamber. It was the first electoral test for Babis since his movement won parliamentary elections in October 2025, which returned him to power after a four-year break following his first term as prime minister.

What the results show

Final results from the two-day vote showed that candidates linked to opposition parties took 22 of the 27 seats contested in the 81-member Senate, preserving the opposition majority that existed before. Babis's centrist ANO movement (the name means "YES") gained no additional seats and holds 14 senators.

Babis described the result as "catastrophic." He said his side certainly had not expected to win no Senate seat at all, but pledged to go ahead with the government's agenda anyway. That includes an unpopular plan to overhaul the funding of public broadcasters.

The government's course

Babis's euroskeptic coalition has also ended direct military support for Ukraine, which is defending itself against Russia's invasion, and opposes European Union policies aimed at fighting global warming.

Although the lower house of the Czech parliament plays the main legislative role, the Senate has considerable influence over the passage of constitutional amendments and the approval of Constitutional Court judges.