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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The chosen voting system remains the proportional system with semi-open lists, with the barrier set at 5%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Civic Democratic Party (ODS<\/strong>), KDU-\u010cSL <\/strong>and TOP 09 <\/strong>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In his place, Alexandr Vondra was therefore chosen, who was also more agreeable to KDU-\u010cSL and TOP 09, who then agreed to the creation of the SPOLU <\/strong>list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Czech Pirate Party <\/strong>started the primaries for its electoral list on 30 May 2023. All incumbent MEPs (Mikul\u00e1\u0161 Peksa, Mark\u00e9ta Gregorov\u00e1 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 Kola\u0159\u00edkov\u00e1, president of the South Bohemia branch of the party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On 15 June 2023, economist and former presidential candidate Danu\u0161e Nerudov\u00e1 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 <\/strong>movement. In August 2023, Nerudov\u00e1 confirmed this position. At the end of August 2023, STAN’s national committee approved Danu\u0161e Nerudov\u00e1 and Jan Farsk\u00fd as leaders of their list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The ANO 2011 <\/strong>movement, on the other hand, nominated MEP and former minister Kl\u00e1ra Dost\u00e1lov\u00e1 as party leader at the European level, surpassing the second candidate Andrej Babi\u0161. The list of parties continues with SPD-Trikolora<\/strong>, whose leader is former Svobodn\u00e9 party president and new SPD member Petr Mach, and KS\u010cM, <\/strong>which nominated Kate\u0159ina Kone\u010dn\u00e1 as its leader to lead the campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, Senator V\u00e1clav L\u00e1ska stated that the SEN 21 <\/strong>movement will participate in the 2024 European elections in coalition with the Volt <\/strong>party, presenting a list of ten candidates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Four months after election day, opinion polls for the 2024 European elections in the Czech Republic reveal a complex political situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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 Sta\u010dilo 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sources: https:<\/a>\/\/brnodaily.com\/, https:\/\/elections.europa.eu\/en\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Image source: https:\/\/www.laquilablog.it\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nNational parties<\/td> Percentage of votes<\/td><\/tr> YEAR 2011 – <\/strong>YEAR 2011<\/td> 21,18%<\/td><\/tr> ODS – <\/strong>Ob\u010dansk\u00e1 demokratick\u00e1 strana<\/td> 14,54%<\/td><\/tr> Pir\u00e1ti – <\/strong>\u010cesk\u00e1 pir\u00e1tsk\u00e1 strana<\/td> 13,95%<\/td><\/tr> TOP 09 + STAN – <\/strong>STAROSTOV\u00c9<\/td> 11,65%<\/td><\/tr> SPD – <\/strong>Svoboda a p\u0159\u00edm\u00e1 demokracie<\/td> 9,14%<\/td><\/tr> KDU-\u010cSL – <\/strong>K\u0159es\u0165ansk\u00e1 a demokratick\u00e1 unie – \u010ceskoslovensk\u00e1 strana lidov\u00e1<\/td> 7,24%<\/td><\/tr> KS\u010cM – <\/strong>Komunistick\u00e1 strana \u010cech in Moravy<\/td> 6,94%<\/td><\/tr> \u010cSSD – <\/strong>\u010cesk\u00e1 strana soci\u00e1ln\u011b demokratick\u00e1<\/td> 3,95%<\/td><\/tr> HLAS – HLAS<\/td> 2,38%<\/td><\/tr> EU TROLL – <\/strong>ANO, vytroll\u00edme europarlament<\/td> 1,56%<\/td><\/tr> V\u011bdci pro \u010cR – <\/strong>V\u011bdci pro \u010ceskou republiku<\/td> 0,82%<\/td><\/tr> Coal ROZUMN\u00cd ND – <\/strong>Koalice Rozumn\u00ed, ND<\/td> 0,78%<\/td><\/tr> Other parties<\/td> 5,87%<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>
The TOP 09 + STAN coalition obtained 11.65% of the vote, while the party achieved 9.14%. KDU-\u010cSL obtained 7.24%, followed by KS\u010cM at 6.94%, the last of the list to exceed the minimum threshold for access to the seat.
Parties such as \u010cSSD (\u010cesk\u00e1 strana soci\u00e1ln\u011b demokratick\u00e1), 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<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nCandidacies: alignments and coalitions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Opinion pooling<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/td> SPOLU<\/td> ANO<\/td> Pirates<\/td> Stan<\/td> SPD-Trikolora<\/td> Sta\u010dilo! (KS\u010cM)<\/td> More<\/td><\/tr> IPSOS<\/td> 25.2<\/td> 26.3<\/td> 10.0<\/td> 12.0<\/td> 7.7<\/td> 6.0<\/td> 12.8<\/td><\/tr> STEM\/MARK<\/td> 15.0<\/td> 33.8<\/td> 11.4<\/td> 7.3<\/td> 14.7<\/td> 5.4<\/td> 12.4<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n