Between 6 and 9 June 2024, European citizens will be called to the polls to participate in the electoral process that will determine the composition of the European Parliament. This transnational body is a crucial pillar of EU governance, standing out as the only one where members are directly elected by the population.
The upcoming elections, set in a few months, will be the tenth direct elections since 1979, representing a crucial moment for the future of the European Union. This will also be the first election after Brexit, a process that has led to significant restructuring, including the reallocation of seats for some member states – a reallocation that, however, does not affect the number of Czech MEPs.
Each nation involved in the election will follow its own national process with regard to how to access the vote, counting and allocation of seats. However, it is important to emphasise that there are mandatory minimum characteristics that each system must respect, thus ensuring a uniform and transparent electoral process throughout the European Union.
Election procedures and past results
As mentioned above, elective efforts are carried out by national political parties, which, once they have acquired a mandate, may decide to affiliate with a transnational political group. In addition, each party is associated with a European political party with which it shares its ideals and goals. In 2019, there were 21 seats in the Czech Republic distributed as follows:
- 6 seats in the group Renew Europe (ANO 2011): successor to the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, the pro-EU Czech party ANO 2011 joined this group’s liberal-conservative idealism in 2019 in order to create an integrative and genuine EU.
- 5 seats in the Group of the European People’s Party (TOP 09 + STAN and KDU-ČSL): this is the longest-standing centre-right pro-European group. It also historically represents the group with the largest presence and influence within the multiple European institutions.
- 4 seats in the Group of European Conservatives and Reformists (ODS): after the 2019 European elections, this is the sixth largest group of the seven in the European Parliament, formed by right-wing conservative parties. The group recognises itself in the ‘Prague Manifesto’ containing the main principles of the movement advocating national sovereignty at the expense of European federalism.
- 3 seats in the Group of Greens/European Free Alliance (Piráti): aggregates parties with an environmentalist, regionalist and progressive orientation. In 2019, the party set out its European priorities including more subsidiarity in decision-making, environmental improvement and consumer protection for better social equality.
- 2 seats in the Identity and Democracy Group (SPD): an extreme right-wing political group in the European Parliament. The SPD party is against Czech membership of the EU in favour of direct democracy and more national sovereignty.
- 1 seat in the Confederal Group of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left (KSČM): brings together socialist, eco-socialist and communist parties. The KSČM party is based on socialism as an open and truly democratic society based on the principles of self-government and a prosperous economy so that society offers people freedom and equal opportunities.
The Czech Republic adopts the semi-open preferential voting system, allowing voters to indicate their preferences within their chosen party list. Parties that exceed the 5% threshold can obtain seats in the European Parliament. The list of elected political parties is made public 48 days before the elections on the website of the Czech Statistical Office and on the website of the Ministry of the Interior. The right to vote is guaranteed to all citizens aged 18 and over and to all registered Czech or EU citizens, excluding remote voting from abroad or via other telematic platforms.
| National parties | Percentage of votes |
| YEAR 2011 – YEAR 2011 | 21,18% |
| ODS – Občanská demokratická strana | 14,54% |
| Piráti – Česká pirátská strana | 13,95% |
| TOP 09 + STAN – STAROSTOVÉ | 11,65% |
| SPD – Svoboda a přímá demokracie | 9,14% |
| KDU-ČSL – Křesťanská a demokratická unie – Československá strana lidová | 7,24% |
| KSČM – Komunistická strana Čech in Moravy | 6,94% |
| ČSSD – Česká strana sociálně demokratická | 3,95% |
| HLAS – HLAS | 2,38% |
| EU TROLL – ANO, vytrollíme europarlament | 1,56% |
| Vědci pro ČR – Vědci pro Českou republiku | 0,82% |
| Coal ROZUMNÍ ND – Koalice Rozumní, ND | 0,78% |
| Other parties | 5,87% |
The TOP 09 + STAN coalition obtained 11.65% of the vote, while the party achieved 9.14%. KDU-ČSL obtained 7.24%, followed by KSČM at 6.94%, the last of the list to exceed the minimum threshold for access to the seat.
Parties such as ČSSD (Česká strana sociálně demokratická), HLAS and EU TROLL, followed by other smaller parties, obtained extremely low vote percentages that did not allow them to be allocated parliamentary representation.
In general, these results indicate a varied distribution of political support, with different factions and ideologies represented
Candidacies: alignments and coalitions
In the Czech Republic, the elections will be held on 7 and 8 June 2024 and will be aimed at choosing the 21 representatives who will fill the role for the next five-year term.
The chosen voting system remains the proportional system with semi-open lists, with the barrier set at 5%.
The climate for the upcoming voting in the Czech Republic is more fervent than ever, not least because of the debate on the single currency that the state has been explicitly but controversially facing since the end of the previous year.
In the run-up to the candidacies, there were many possible scenarios and coalitions that emerged, paving the way for political outcomes of uncertain determination.
The Civic Democratic Party (ODS), KDU-ČSL and TOP 09 discussed the possibility of standing through the SPOLU coalition or independently. The minority parties within the coalition had initially expressed their uncertainty about the joint candidacy, which was strongly supported by most ODS members and its leader and Prime Minister Peter Fiala. The misgivings were mainly related to the figure of Jan Zahradil, incumbent MEP and ODS electoral leader in 2019. In response, Zahradil announced that he would not run in the elections.
In his place, Alexandr Vondra was therefore chosen, who was also more agreeable to KDU-ČSL and TOP 09, who then agreed to the creation of the SPOLU list.
This represented a complete change of course for KDU-CSL in particular, which had already started to select its candidates for independent candidacy before announcing its membership in the coalition.
The Czech Pirate Party started the primaries for its electoral 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. The winner, after due debate and the opening of possible internal party divisions, was the 2019 election leader, Marcel Kolaja. They were joined by the fifth and final candidate Jana Kolaříková, president of the South Bohemia branch of the party.
On 15 June 2023, economist and former presidential candidate Danuše Nerudová confirmed her candidature for the European elections in 2024. She had been the subject of speculation for the second place on the list of the STAN movement. In August 2023, Nerudová confirmed this position. At the end of August 2023, STAN’s national committee approved Danuše Nerudová and Jan Farský as leaders of their list.
The ANO 2011 movement, on the other hand, nominated MEP and former minister Klára Dostálová as party leader at the European level, surpassing the second candidate Andrej Babiš. The list of parties continues with SPD-Trikolora, whose leader is former Svobodné party president and new SPD member Petr Mach, and KSČM, which nominated Kateřina Konečná as its leader to lead the campaign.
Finally, Senator Václav Láska stated that the SEN 21 movement will participate in the 2024 European elections in coalition with the Volt party, presenting a list of ten candidates.
Opinion pooling
| SPOLU | ANO | Pirates | Stan | SPD-Trikolora | Stačilo! (KSČM) | More | |
| IPSOS | 25.2 | 26.3 | 10.0 | 12.0 | 7.7 | 6.0 | 12.8 |
| STEM/MARK | 15.0 | 33.8 | 11.4 | 7.3 | 14.7 | 5.4 | 12.4 |
Four months after election day, opinion polls for the 2024 European elections in the Czech Republic reveal a complex political situation.
On the one hand, the centre-right party ANO seems to maintain the first position in all polls, but its gap with the other candidate forces could, according to data provided by IPSOS, shrink significantly compared to the last round.
The SPOLU coalition, which with ODS represents a majority in the national government, does not fully reflect its strength also at the extra-national level. Discrepancies in the polls indicate a possible disconnect between national politics and voter preferences for the European elections. In fact, the greatest uncertainty of support is linked to this pole, with forecasts varying by more than ten percentage points.
On the other hand, there is a significant rise of the far-right SPD-Trikolora party, highlighting a growing political polarisation. Doubts remain as to the ability of the left-wing Stačilo coalition to pass the 5 per cent threshold, as vote forecasts fluctuate to the limit, suggesting a position that could be influenced by variables such as electorate mobilisation and campaign strategy. These factors outline a complex and potentially unstable electoral landscape, with significant implications for the formation of post-election coalitions and the future direction of national and European politics.
Sources: https://brnodaily.com/, https://elections.europa.eu/en/
Image source: https://www.laquilablog.it/
Graphic source: https://storyset.com/
