About this election
The Czech Republic holds elections to one-third of its Senate over two rounds on 9–10 and 16–17 October 2026, renewing 27 of the upper house's 81 seats. Senate elections are staggered so that a third of the chamber is renewed every two years, which means the upper house is never dissolved and its composition shifts gradually rather than all at once. The 2026 contest is the first Senate vote since the October 2025 Chamber of Deputies election, which returned Andrej Babiš and his ANO movement to power, so it offers an early read on the new government's standing — and on whether the Senate will act as a check on it.
Each of the 81 senators represents a single-member district and serves a six-year term, elected by a two-round majority (run-off) system modelled on the French method. If no candidate wins more than half the vote in the first round, the top two advance to a second round the following weekend, where the higher vote-getter wins. Turnout in Senate elections is characteristically low, especially in the second round, which can produce surprising results and rewards candidates with strong local profiles. Because only a third of seats are contested each cycle, a single election rarely transforms the chamber, but it can shift the balance between government and opposition blocs.
The Senate has in recent years been dominated by the centre-right and centrist parties that made up the previous governing coalition — the Civic Democrats (ODS), the Mayors and Independents (STAN), the Christian Democrats (KDU-ČSL) and TOP 09 — which together have held a comfortable majority and used it to scrutinise legislation and shape constitutional matters. Andrej Babiš's ANO, despite its strength in the Chamber and its 2025 general-election victory, has historically been weaker in the Senate, where the two-round system tends to favour broad anti-ANO alliances in run-offs. The populist and far-right forces that have grown in the lower house have likewise struggled to translate that support into Senate seats.
Going into the 2026 election, the approximate strengths of the main Senate clubs were:
| Party / club | Seats |
| Civic Democrats (ODS) | 18 |
| Mayors and Independents (STAN) | 15 |
| ANO 2011 | 12 |
| Christian Democrats (KDU-ČSL) | 12 |
| TOP 09 | 7 |
| SEN 21 / others | 17 |
An absolute majority of the chamber is 41 of 81 seats. Only the 27 seats up for election in 2026 are contested; the remaining 54 carry over.
The key question is whether the centre-right and centrist parties can hold their Senate majority and so retain a counterweight to the new ANO-led government, or whether ANO and its allies can make inroads. Because Senate run-offs hinge on local alliances and low turnout, individual district contests — and which party can rally the broadest anti-incumbent coalition in the second round — will decide the outcome more than any national swing.
The 27 districts contested in each cycle are spread across the country, mixing big-city seats (parts of Prague, Brno, Ostrava) with rural and small-town districts. The centre-right has tended to do well in Prague and prosperous regions, while ANO draws on smaller towns and industrial areas. ElectioMap will map the contested districts and their run-offs as results come in.
This page will report the first-round and run-off results in the 27 contested Senate districts and the resulting balance of the chamber, with a district map, across both October weekends. Figures are sourced from the Czech Statistical Office (volby.cz), which administers and publishes the official results.
It is held over two rounds: 9–10 October and, for run-offs, 16–17 October 2026. It renews 27 of the Senate's 81 seats — one-third of the chamber, which is renewed every two years.
Each senator represents a single-member district and serves a six-year term, elected by a two-round majority system. If no candidate wins over 50% in the first round, the top two contest a run-off the following weekend. Turnout, especially in the second round, is typically low.
It is the first Senate vote since ANO and Andrej Babiš won the October 2025 Chamber election and returned to government. The Senate, long held by centre-right and centrist parties, can act as a check on the new government, so the question is whether that majority holds.
The Civic Democrats (ODS), Mayors and Independents (STAN), Christian Democrats (KDU-ČSL) and TOP 09 have dominated. ANO has historically been weaker in the Senate, where two-round run-offs tend to favour broad anti-ANO alliances.
First-round results come on the first weekend, with decisive run-offs the next. Live district results and the resulting balance of the chamber will appear on this page, sourced from the Czech Statistical Office (volby.cz).
Compiled and reviewed by Bartłomiej Paruzel, Election Data Analyst, from official results. See our data methodology.