Parliamentary elections were held in the Czech Republic on 8 and 9 October 2021. All 200 members of the Chamber of Deputies were elected, with the leader of the resulting government to become the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic. Following the 2017 parliamentary elections, the country had been ruled by a minority government consisting of ANO, led by prime minister Andrej Babiš, and the Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD), led by interior minister Jan Hamáček, with confidence and supply support from the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSČM) until April 2021. The largest opposition party was the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), followed by the Czech Pirate Party. Other parties in the Chamber of Deputies included SPD, TOP 09, STAN, and KDU-ČSL.

Babiš ran again as leader of ANO, and the main opposition parliamentary parties formed two electoral alliances, SPOLU and Pirates and Mayors (abbreviated to PirStan or PaS). ANO was front runner of the election, as it was polling first ahead of SPOLU and PirStan prior to the election. The result was a surprise victory for the liberal conservative alliance SPOLU, which received the highest number of votes, while the populist ANO received the highest number of seats. No opinion poll placed Spolu in the first place prior to the vote. It was the closest parliamentary election in the history of Czech Republic.

The opposition parties won a majority in the Chamber of Deputies and agreed to form a coalition government with SPOLU leader Petr Fiala as the new prime minister. Traditional left-wing parties ČSSD and KSČM failed to reach the 5% threshold to win any seats in the Chamber of Deputies for the first time since the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993. The Pirates, which were one of the leading opposition parties, were heavily defeated due to preferential votes and won just 4 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. Petr Fiala was appointed as the new prime minister on 28 November 2021 while rest of the new cabinet was appointed on 17 December 2021.

Background

According to the Constitution of the Czech Republic, an election to the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Czech parliament, must be held every four years. The government is answerable to the Chamber of Deputies and remains in power only with the confidence of the majority of members of parliament. Article 19(1) of the constitution states that any citizen of the Czech Republic who has right to vote and is 21 years old is eligible to serve as an MP.

ANO emerged as the largest party in the 2017 parliamentary election and formed a minority government, which then lost a vote of confidence on 16 January 2018. The party formed a coalition government with the Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD), supported by the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSČM), which lasted until April 2021. Andrej Babiš became the new prime minister. The Civic Democratic Party (ODS) emerged as the second largest party and main opposition party, narrowly ahead of the Czech Pirate Party.

2018 Senate and municipal elections

In 2018, voters elected 27 of 81 members of the Senate and approximately 61,900 members of local councils. ODS won the Senate election with 10 senators elected. ANO won the municipal elections in most regional cities, with ODS finishing first in Prague and STAN in Liberec. ČSSD and KSČM lost over half of their votes and seats in municipal councils.

2019 European Parliament election

In May 2019, voters elected 21 members of the European Parliament. ANO came first, with ODS and the Pirates close behind in number of seats. As ČSSD failed to achieve more than 5 percent of votes in national elections for the first time since the mid-1990s, it did not get any seat.

2020 Senate and regional elections

In October 2020, voters elected 675 members of regional assemblies in 13 regions of the nation, except Prague, which then formed regional governments. ANO won the election with 21.8% of votes but opposition parties, especially the Pirates, made gains, while allies of ANO were heavily defeated. The governing parties were also heavily defeated in the Senate elections, which were won by Mayors and Independents ahead of ODS.

Coalitions of political parties Following these elections, opposition parties began negotiations about potential electoral alliances. It was speculated that two electoral blocs would be formed: a conservative bloc led by ODS, which would also include KDU-ČSL and TOP 09, with Petr Fiala as leader, and a liberal bloc composed of the Pirates and Mayors and Independents, with Ivan Bartoš as the leader.

The ODS leadership agreed to form an alliance on 25 October 2020, with a memorandum to be signed two days later. On 27 October 2020, Fiala, Marian Jurečka, and Markéta Pekarová Adamová announced that ODS, KDU-ČSL, and TOP 09 would form an electoral alliance for the next parliamentary election, with ODS leader Fiala as the alliance's candidate for prime minister. On 11 November 2020, the parties agreed that ODS would nominate the leaders of the election lists in nine regions, KDU-ČSL in three regions, and TOP 09 in two regions. The name of the alliance was announced as SPOLU, meaning "Together" in English. Fiala was confirmed as the alliance's candidate for prime minister on 16 December 2020.

The leadership of Mayors and Independents agreed to start negotiations on 8 October 2020. The Pirates are required to ratify any alliance in a members' referendum. In a poll on 20 October 2020, 51% of Pirate members were opposed to the alliance while 43% supported it. The referendum to starting negotiations for an alliance was originally scheduled for 13 to 16 November 2020 but was rescheduled for 20 to 23 November 2020. Among Pirate members, 695 out of 858 voted in favour of negotiations, with a turnout of 80%. Ivan Bartoš was nominated to be the Pirate's election leader on 25 November 2020, and was confirmed on 2 December 2020. The Pirates also offered the Green Party the possibility to join its electoral list. Bartoš was confirmed as the alliance's electoral leader on 14 December 2020. Pirate members voted to approve the alliance on 13 January 2021.

ČSSD started to negotiate the formation of a third electoral bloc in January 2021, negotiating with the Green Party and some regional parties about the formation of a left-wing electoral alliance. The Green Party stated as a condition for joining an alliance that the parties would not form a government coalition with ANO after the election.

In early 2021, the Tricolour Citizens' Movement, Svobodní, the Freeholder Party of the Czech Republic, and other minor parties began negotiations about a potential alliance. On 5 March 2021, these three parties confirmed the formation of a coalition, stating that they would run either in a formal electoral alliance or as a single party, depending on the new electoral law. The Independence Party of the Czech Republic declared support for this coalition soon after. On 23 March 2021, Tricolour leader Václav Klaus Jr. resigned from all political functions for personal reasons. Zuzana Majerová Zahradníková became acting leader of the party.

On 23 March 2021, a group of minor parties including the Alliance for the Future, Agrarian Democratic Party, Order of the Nation, and Democratic Green Party formed an electoral alliance, the Alliance for the Future, with Pavel Sehnal as leader. The Party of Common Sense also subsequently joined the alliance.

Some commentators have described the election as a "hidden referendum" on membership of the European Union (EU).

Electoral system

During the 2017 parliamentary election, the 200 members of the Chamber of Deputies were elected from 14 multi-member constituencies by open list proportional representation with an electoral threshold of 5%. It was raised to 10% for two-party political alliances, 15% for three-party alliances, and 20% for alliances of four or more parties. Seats were allocated using the D'Hondt method. Voters can give preference votes to up to four candidates on a list. Candidates who receive preferential votes from more than 5% of voters are moved to the top of their list; in cases where more than one candidate receives over 5% of the preferential votes, they are ranked in order of votes received.

Although it was expected that the 2021 parliamentary election would take place using the same electoral system, the Constitutional Court ruled on a complaint submitted by a group of senators from Mayors and Independents, KDU-ČSL, and TOP 09 that the electoral system was unproportional and favoured larger parties. It focused on the D'Hondt method, the division of the country into 14 constituencies, and the increased electoral threshold for alliances. The Constitutional Court's decision, published on 3 February 2021, set the threshold for alliances at 5% and removed some provisions relating to seat allocation. New provisions were put into law before the election, establishing a threshold of 5% for single parties, 8% for coalitions of two parties, and 11% for coalitions of three or more parties.

Registration process The deadline to submit candidate lists for election was 4 August 2021. As of 2 August 2021, 29 subjects had made an application to the registration bureau. All of them were approved by the bureau and permitted to run.

Observers Czech Republic invited experts from Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) to observe election. OSCE provided four observers.

Covid-19 pandemic

As with the regional elections in 2020, the pandemic emergency, covered by the pandemic law, allowed for the establishment of special polling stations for people in isolation or quarantine, as well as drive-in voting locations. Disinfection and respiratory protection were provided to ensure hygienic conditions in traditional polling stations. Special election dates were announced on 6 and 7 October 2021.

Local referendums Simultaneously with the election, there were local referendums held in 20 cities and towns: Blšany u Loun, Blučina, Bzenec, Dačice, Drnholec, Jáchymov, Jezeřany-Maršovice, Katovice, Losiná, Pardubice, Podolí, Příkosice, Řevnice, Slavonice, Sušice, Ševětín, Temelín, Třemošnice, Velký Beranov, Zduchovice and Stará Bělá (part of Ostrava).

Political parties

The table below lists political parties represented in the Chamber of Deputies after the 2017 parliamentary election. Name Ideology Position Leader 2017 result Votes (%) Seats ANO Populism Centre to centre-right Andrej Babiš29.6% ODS Liberal conservatism Centre-right to right-wing Petr Fiala11.3% Pirates Pirate politics Centre to centre-left Ivan Bartoš 10.8% SPD Right-wing populism Right-wing to far-right Tomio Okamura 10.6% KSČM Communism Left-wing to far-left Vojtěch Filip 7.8% ČSSD Social democracy Centre-left Jan Hamáček 7.3% KDU-ČSL Christian democracy Centre to centre-right Marian Jurečka 5.8% TOP 09 Liberal conservatism Centre-right Markéta Adamová 5.3% STAN Liberalism, localism Centre to centre-right Vít Rakušan 5.2%

Pre-election composition PartySeats ANO78 Civic Democratic Party23 Czech Pirate Party22 Freedom and Direct Democracy19 Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia15 Czech Social Democratic Party14 KDU-ČSL10 TOP 097 Mayors and Independents6 Tricolour Citizens' Movement3 Free Bloc2 Unified1

Competing parties