2024 European Parliament election in the Czech Republic

2024 European Parliament election in the Czech Republic

← 2019 7–8 June 2024 2029 →

All 21 Czech seats in the European Parliament
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Klára Dostálová Alexandr Vondra Marcel Kolaja
Party ANO ODS Pirates
Alliance SPOLU
Last election 21.19%, 6 seats 33.44%, 9 seats [a] 13.96%, 3 seats
EP Group RE ECR / EPP Greens/EFA

  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Leader Petr Mach Danuše Nerudová Kateřina Konečná
Party SPD STAN KSČM
Alliance SPD-Tricolour Stačilo!
Last election 9.14%, 2 seats[c] 11.65%[d], 1 seat 6.94%, 1 seat[b]
EP Group ID EPP The Left

Elections will be held in the Czech Republic on 7-8 June 2024 to elect the 21 Czech representatives for the European Parliament, alongside the EU-wide 2024 European Parliament election. The newly elected European Parliament should consist of 720 deputies in total.

Electoral system

The 21 members are elected through semi-open list proportional representation in a single nationwide constituency with seats allocated through D'Hondt method and a 5% electoral threshold.[1]

Both Czech and EU citizens are entitled to vote in the European election in Czech Republic provided they have a permanent or temporary residence in the country at least 45 days prior to the elections. In addition, those eligible to vote must turn 18 years old by the second election day at the latest. Voter registration is required only for non-Czech EU citizens residing in Czech Republic, while Czech citizens are automatically registered in their place of residence.[2]

Background and previous election

The previous elections to the European Parliament (EP) were held in the Czech Republic on 24-25 May 2019. Voter turnout was 28.72%. The parties and candidates elected were:

In October 2020, Radka Maxová resigned from ANO, and in March 2021, she started cooperating as a non-party member with the Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD), which had not won any seats in the previous election.[3] In September 2022, Hynek Blaško resigned from SPD and now sits in the EP as an independent.[4]

Outgoing delegation

The table shows the detailed composition of the Czech seats at the European Parliament as of 25 January 2024.

EP Group Seats Party Seats MEPs
Renew Europe
5 / 21
ANO 2011 3
Independents 2
European People's Party
5 / 21
TOP 09 2
KDU-ČSL 2
Mayors and Independents 1
European Conservatives and Reformists
4 / 21
Civic Democratic Party 4
Greens–European Free Alliance
3 / 21
Czech Pirate Party 3
Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
1 / 21
Independents 1
Identity and Democracy
1 / 21
Freedom and Direct Democracy 1
The Left in the European Parliament – GUE/NGL
1 / 21
Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia 1
Non-Inscrits
1 / 21
Independents 1
Total 21
Source: European Parliament

Parties and candidates

The following parties running in the European elections are represented in the Chamber of Deputies or in the European Parliament:

Party European Party Group 2019 result Top candidate
SPOLU Civic Democratic Party ECR ECR 14.55 Alexandr Vondra
TOP 09 EPP EPP 11.65 [e]
KDU-ČSL 7.24
ANO ANO 2011 ALDE RE 21.19 Klára Dostálová
Pirates Czech Pirate Party PPEU Greens/EFA 13.96 Marcel Kolaja
STAN Mayors and Independents none EPP 11.65 [f] Danuše Nerudová
SPD

+Tricolour

Freedom and Direct Democracy ID ID 9.14 Petr Mach
Tricolour none none
Enough! Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia PEL GUE/NGL 6.94 Kateřina Konečná
Czech National Social Party none none 0.05
United Democrats - Association of Independents none none

The following other parties or alliances have announced their candidature but are currently not represented in the Chamber of Deputies or in the European Parliament:

Party European Party Group 2019 result Top candidate
SocDem Social Democracy PES S&D 3.95 Lubomír Zaorálek
Voice Voice none RE 2.38 to be announced
Svobodní Svobodní none none 0.65 Libor Vondráček
Greens Greens EGP Greens/EFA none[g] Johanna Nejedlová
ZNČR Alliance National Democracy none none 0.79 Hynek Blaško
Party of Common Sense
Workers' Party of Social Justice 0.18
SPR-RMS 0.18
Alliance of National Forces 0.08
PES Movement none
Citizen Movement
FOR Czexit Moravané none none 0.27 to be announced
SPR-RMCMS [cs] none
MZS Moravian Land Movement EFA Greens/EFA 0.13 to be announced
ČSSD Czech Sovereignty none none 0.11 Jiří Paroubek
KAN Club of Committed Non-Party Members none none 0.11 to be announced
KONS+KČ Conservative Party none none none to be announced
Czech Crown
The Left The Left PEL GUE/NGL Jan Májíček
PRO2022 Law, Respect, Expertise none none to be announced
Přísaha+Auto Přísaha none EPP Filip Turek
Motorists for Themselves none none
Sen21+Volt Sen 21 EDP RE Lenka Helena Koenigsmark
Volt Czechia Volt Europa Greens/EFA
SNK ED SNK European Democrats none none to be announced
Swiss Dem. Swiss Democracy none none to be announced

Background

SPOLU

The Civic Democratic Party (ODS), KDU-ČSL and TOP 09 have discussed whether they will run under the combined SPOLU banner or independently. According to reports, the ODS and TOP 09 memberships would prefer to run independently,[5] while ODS leader and Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala favours a joint candidacy as SPOLU.[6] A combined list under the SPOLU banner is problematic due to the fact that ODS is part of the European Conservatives and Reformists EP grouping, while KDU-ČSL and TOP 09 are part of the European People's Party.[7] Sitting MEP and ODS's 2019 electoral leader Jan Zahradil was reported to be problematic for KDU-ČSL and TOP 09, as well as many ODS members such as MP Eva Decroix.[8] On 5 June 2023 Zahradil announced that he will not run in the election.[9] Alexandr Vondra has also been speculated as a potential lead candidate for ODS or SPOLU as whole.[10][8]

On 18 May 2023, members of KDU-ČSL voted in a membership referendum in favor of running independently.[11] On 20 May 2023, KDU-ČSL decided at its nomination conference that its lead candidate for the 2024 elections will be current MEP Tomáš Zdechovský. Other candidates will include: František Talíř, the 1st Deputy Governor of the South Bohemian Region; MEP Michaela Šojdrová; Ondřej Mikmek, mayor of Slatinice in Olomouc; senator and twice presidential candidate Pavel Fischer; and MP Hayato Okamura. A decision over whether KDU-ČSL will run independently or as part of the SPOLU alliance will be made by September 2023.[12][13]

On 30 October 2023, ODS, TOP 09 and KDU-ČSL announced that they will contest the election on a joint list.[14]

Czech Pirate Party

The Czech Pirate Party launched primaries for its election list on 30 May 2023. All incumbent MEPs (Mikuláš Peksa, Markéta Gregorová and Marcel Kolaja) announced their intention to run for the position of electoral leader.[15] Former MP Mikuláš Ferjenčík also announced his candidacy, and received the endorsements of Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Lipavský and former Mayor of Prague Zdeněk Hřib. 2019 electoral leader Marcel Kolaja soon criticised Ferjenčík, stating that the leader should be a respected politician.[10] The fifth candidate is Jana Kolaříková, chair of the South Bohemian branch of the party.[16]

ANO

MP and former government minister Klára Dostálová is speculated to become the lead candidate for ANO 2011.[10] 2019 electoral leader Dita Charanzová was reportedly undecided whether to run again.[17] Party leader Andrej Babiš was also reported to be considering his own candidacy.[7]

STAN

Leader of Mayors and Independents (STAN) Vít Rakušan suggested Jan Farský as his party's electoral leader.[18]

ČSSD

Former Czech Prime Minister Jiří Paroubek has announced his intention to run in the election with his Nespokojení (Dissatisfied) movement, with the aim of connecting parties on the left of the political spectrum.[8]

SEN21+Volt

In October 2023, Volt and SEN21 announced that they would be standing in the European elections with a joint list.[19][20] The head of their joint list is Lenka Koenigsmark.[21]

Campaign

Slogans

List Slogan (Czech) Slogan (English)
SPOLU „Bezpečná Evropa - Silné Česko“ “Safe Europe - Strong Czechia”
ANO to be announced to be announced
Pirates „Odvaha pro Evropu, Evropa pro tebe“ “Courage for Europe, Europe for you”
STAN „ABY SE V EVROPĚ ŘEŠILY VAŠE STAROSTI“ “FOR YOUR CONCERNS TO BE ADDRESSED IN EUROPE”
SPD

+Tricolour

„Česká republika na 1. místě, hájíme její zájmy a suverenitu a máme v Evropě silné vlastenecké spojence!“ “Czech Republic on the 1st place, we protect its interests a have a strong patriotic allies in Europe!”
Enough! „Diktát Bruselu? Stačilo!“ “The Dictate of Brussels? Enough!”
List Slogan (Czech) Slogan (English)
SocDem to be announced to be announced
Voice to be announced to be announced
Svobodní „Patříme do Evropy, ne Evropě[h] “We belong in Europe, not to Europe[i]
Greens to be announced to be announced
ZNČR Alliance to be announced to be announced
For Czexit to be announced to be announced
MZS to be announced to be announced
ČSSD to be announced to be announced
KAN to be announced to be announced
KONS+KČ to be announced to be announced
LANO „Bez korupce a lží!“ “Without corruption and lies!”
The Left to be announced to be announced
Tabby Cat „O fous lepší Evropa, o dost lepší Česko“ “A little better Europe, a lot better Czechia”
PlanČR1 to be announced to be announced
PRO2022 to be announced to be announced
Přísaha+Auto to be announced to be announced
Sen21+Volt „Evropa, ne středověk!“ “Europe, not the Middle Ages!”
SNK ED to be announced to be announced
Swiss Dem. to be announced to be announced
Referendum to be announced to be announced

MEPs not standing for re-election

Name Party Date announced Source
Jan Zahradil Civic Democratic Party (ECR) 5 June 2023 [22]
Radka Maxová Inderpendent (S&D) 31 October 2023 [23]

Opinion polling

Polling firm Fieldwork
date
Sample
size
SPOLU
ECREPP
ANO
Renew
Piráti
G/EFA
STAN
EPP
SPD
Trikolóra
ID
Stačilo!
Left
SOCDEM
S&D
Svobodní
NI
Přísaha
NI
Zelení
EGP
PRO
NI
Others Lead
Data Collect 25 Mar 2024 20.9 27.3 10.8 9.3 10.9 7.1 2.9 1.5 2.5 2.5 1.9 2.4 6.4
IPSOS 23 Feb–5 Mar 2024 1,517 21.6 26.3 11.3 13.4 7.9 6.1 2.7 2.8 4.9 4.7
IPSOS Dec 2023 TBA 25.2 26.3 10.0 12.0 7.7 6.0 12.8 1.1
STEM/MARK 23–28 Nov 2023 1,010 15.0 33.8 11.4 7.3 14.7 5.4 3.6 2.9 6.0 18.8
2021 parliamentary election 8–9 Oct 2021 27.8 27.1 15.6 9.6 3.6 4.7 2.8[j] 4.7 1.0 0.9 0.7
2019 European election 24–25 May 2019 21.8[k] 21.2 14.0 11.7[l] 9.1 6.9 4.0 0.7 10.6 0.6
  1. ^ ODS + TOP 09 + KDU-ČSL
  2. ^ as KSČM
  3. ^ as SPD
  4. ^ with TOP 09
  5. ^ Together with Mayors and Independents
  6. ^ Together with the TOP 09
  7. ^ Supported TOP 09 and STAN
  8. ^ Styled as €vropě
  9. ^ Styled as €urope
  10. ^ with Trikolora
  11. ^ ODS 14.6%, KDU-ČSL 7.2%
  12. ^ with TOP 09

References

  1. ^ Oelbermann, Kai Friederike; Pukelsheim, Friedrich (July 2020). "The European Elections of May 2019" (PDF). europarl.europa.eu. p. 14.
  2. ^ "How to vote in Czech Republic". European Parliament. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  3. ^ Martinek, Jan (19 March 2021). "Spoluzakladatelka ANO Maxová přestupuje v rámci europarlamentu do ČSSD". Novinky (in Czech). Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  4. ^ "Europoslanec Blaško zkritizoval Okamuru a končí v SPD". Seznam Zprávy (in Czech). Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  5. ^ Brodníčková, Karolina (11 April 2023). "Eurovolby dělí Spolu. Rozkmotří se?". Novinky.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  6. ^ Machová, Martina. "Sami, nebo Spolu? Strany koalice váhají, zda jít eurovoleb společně". Seznam Zprávy (in Czech). Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Koalice Spolu zvažuje společnou kandidaturu do Evropského parlamentu. Nominaci rozmýšlel i Babiš". iROZHLAS (in Czech). 4 June 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  8. ^ a b c Šeliga, Vojtěch. "Paroubek, Dostálová a nejistá budoucnost Zahradila? Kdo za rok zabojuje o europarlament". CNN Prima News (in Czech). Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  9. ^ Šamanová, Dáša (5 June 2023). "Zahradil jako šéf klubu ODS v europarlamentu končí, kandidovat už nebude". Novinky.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  10. ^ a b c Kopecký, Josef (30 May 2023). "Piráty může vést do voleb Ferjenčík. Má to být uznávaný politik, namítl Kolaja". iDNES.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  11. ^ Koutník, Ondřej. "Pojďme do eurovoleb bez Spolu, řekla většina lidovců v anketě". Seznam Zprávy (in Czech). Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  12. ^ Košťálová, Bára (20 May 2023). "KDU-ČSL vede do eurovoleb Zdechovský. Ještě není jasné, zda se lidovci spojí i s ODS a TOP09". iROZHLAS (in Czech). Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  13. ^ Menšík, Jan (21 May 2023). "Lidovce povede do EP Zdechovský. O případné kandidatuře v koalici Spolu se rozhodne do září". Novinky.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  14. ^ Zachová, Aneta (30 October 2023). "Czech EPP, ECR parties form joint EU elections list". Euractiv. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
  15. ^ Vodrážka, Prokop (30 May 2023). "Piráti zahájili evropské primárky. Kritiky vládního angažmá vyzve exposlanec Ferjenčík". Deník N (in Czech). Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  16. ^ Cigánek, Lukáš. "Kdo povede Piráty do eurovoleb? Peksa se opřel do Ferjenčíka, na lídra kandidují oba". CNN Prima News (in Czech). Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  17. ^ Veselý, Marek. "Nevím, jakým směrem se chce ANO ubírat, řekla Charanzová. Kandidaturu stále zvažuje". CNN Prima News (in Czech). Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  18. ^ Grim, Jakub; Kubant, Vít (15 April 2023). "Do evropských voleb půjde STAN samostatně. Jako lídr by se mi líbil Farský, prozradil Rakušan". iROZHLAS (in Czech). Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  19. ^ "Já vím, že pro evropské volby máte plná média Spolu, STANu či Pirátů". X (formerly Twitter) (in Czech). 2023-10-05. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  20. ^ "Eurovolby: Protestní rétorika Stačilo! stačit nebude, Přísaha je zpět a chce do EPP", Spotify (in Czech), 2023-12-06, retrieved 2023-12-09
  21. ^ Houska, Ondřej (2024-01-25). "Zatím nejlepší Fiala – konečně popřel sám sebe. A ministr Dvořák bude mít po boku ženu". Hospodářské noviny (HN.cz) (in Czech). Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  22. ^ "Zahradil jako šéf klubu ODS v europarlamentu končí, kandidovat už nebude". Novinky.cz (in Czech). 2023-06-05. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
  23. ^ "Maxová oznámila SOCDEM, že končí a nebude obhajovat post v europarlamentu". iDNES.cz (in Czech). 2023-10-31. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
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