Pro-Western opposition wins big in Czech Senate election, dealing a blow to populist PM Babiš

PRAGUE (AP) — The pro-Western opposition parties won big Saturday in the Czech Republic’s vote to fill one-third of the seats in Parliament’s upper house, the Senate, handing a blow to the ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš.

With almost all the votes from the two-day ballot counted by the Statistics Office, the centrist ANO (or YES) movement led by the populist billionaire failed to win a single seat.

A total of 27 seats from the 81-seat Senate were up for grabs in the two-round election. The opposition retained its control of the upper house. The candidates directly linked to the opposition parties won 22 seats. ANO had had only one of the seats previously, but lost even that.

Parliament’s lower house dominates the legislative process, but the Senate plays an important role in passing constitutional amendments and approving Constitutional Court judges.

The elections are the first test for Babiš since he returned to power after a decisive victory in parliamentary elections in October 2025.

Babiš has formed a governing coalition with two small political groups whose agenda includes reducing support for Ukraine and rejecting some key European Union policies.

His coalition partners also ended up empty-handed in the ballot.