Czech Republic Kicks Off Parliamentary Vote
(MENAFN) Czech citizens began voting Friday in a closely watched parliamentary election that could reshape Central Europe’s political landscape, with more than 8 million eligible voters casting ballots over two days to fill all 200 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Czech Republic's parliament.
The vote—spread across Friday and Saturday—features 26 political parties and alliances, four more than contested the last general election in 2021. According to Radio Prague International, only seven groups are considered to have a “realistic chance” of securing seats. In total, 4,463 candidates are competing—an average of 22 per seat.
The outcome is seen as critical, with observers warning it could further empower populist forces in the region. Pre-election surveys show strong momentum for the right-wing ANO movement, led by 71-year-old billionaire Andrej Babis. While ANO leads in polling, it would need to win more than 40% of the chamber to govern alone—a threshold analysts deem unlikely.
Babis has ruled out any coalition with ODS, the party of current Prime Minister Petr Fiala, and has made clear his stance on European integration. “We will not adopt the euro,” he pledged during the campaign.
Voting opened at 2 p.m. local time (1200GMT) Friday and will run until 10 p.m. (2000GMT), resuming Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (0800GMT–1200GMT). Vote counting will begin immediately after polls close, with preliminary results expected by 6 p.m. local time (1600GMT) Saturday.
Roughly 24,000 Czech nationals have registered to vote from abroad, nearly half opting to cast ballots by mail, Radio Prague International reported.
In the 2021 election, Babis’ ANO narrowly led with 72 seats, followed closely by the Spolu coalition, headed by Fiala’s ODS, with 71.
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