Senate of the Czech Republic

Senate

*Senát Parlamentu České republiky*
Senate ; Senát Parlamentu České republiky
Type
Type	Upper house of the Parliament of the Czech Republic
Leadership
President	Miloš Vystrčil, ODS ; since 19 February 2020
1st Vice-President	Jiří Drahoš, STAN ; since 2 November 2022
Vice-President	Jitka Seitlová, KDU-ČSL ; since 11 November 2020
Vice-President	Tomáš Czernin, TOP 09 ; since 2 November 2022
Vice-President	Jiří Oberfalzer, ODS ; since 14 November 2018
Structure
Seats	81
	6 18 6 12 36 3
Political groups	Supporting government (73) ODS and TOP 09 (36); Mayors and Independents Group (18); KDU-ČSL and Independents (12); SEN 21 and Pirates (7); Opposition (8) ANO and ČSSD (6); Non-affiliated (2);
Elections
Voting system	Two-round system; Staggered elections
Last election	23-24 September and 30 September-1 October 2022
Meeting place
	Wallenstein Palace, Prague
Website
	www.senat.cz

The Senate (Czech: Senát Parlamentu České republiky, lit. 'Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic') is the upper house of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. The seat of the Senate is Wallenstein Palace in Prague.

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Wallenstein Palace in Prague, the main building of the Senate.

The Senate has 81 members, chosen in single-seat constituencies through the two-round system. If no candidate receives a majority of votes in the first round, there is a second round between the two highest-placed candidates. The term of office for Senators is six years, and elections are staggered so that a third of the seats are up for election every two years. A candidate for the Senate does not need to be on a political party's ticket (unlike in the Chamber of Deputies).

The Senate has one President and four Vice-presidents.^[1] Its members participate in specialised committees and commissions.^[2]^[3] The Senate Chancellery has been created to provide professional, organisational and technical services. The Senate occupies several historical palaces in centre of Prague, in Malá Strana quarter. In 2005 its budget was 561.2 million CZK.

The Senate can delay a proposed law which was approved by the Chamber of Deputies but this veto can be overridden by a majority (i.e. at least 101 of all 200 members) of the Chamber of Deputies in a repeated vote. If the Senate proposes amendments, Chamber of deputies may approve it with a simple majority or override it with absolute majority. The Senate, however, cannot be overridden when it votes on electoral law, constitutional law and on international treaties.

The Senate decides on confirmation of judges of the Constitutional Court, proposed by the President. It often uses this power to block unacceptable nominants and may propose new laws. However, the Senate does not get to vote on the country's budget or on confidence in the government, unlike the Chamber of Deputies.

The President of the Senate is the second-highest official of the Czech Republic for ceremonial purposes, after the President of the Republic, but without much real political power.

The Senate was established in constitutional law of the Czech National Council (ČNR) No. 1/1993 on 16 December 1992.^[4] The immediate reason for its creation was a need to find a place for members of the Federal Assembly, dissolved together with Czechoslovakia. Other reasons given were the positioning of the Senate as a safety device ("pojistka") correcting laws endorsed by lower chamber and as a power balancing tool against the dominance of a single party, especially regarding constitution and electoral law. Due to opposition by the Civic Democratic Alliance (who had members in the Czech National Council, which became the Chamber of Deputies under the new Constitution, but not in the Federal Assembly) and those politicians fearing dilution of power the Senate was not set up. The first elections were held in 1996, with voter turnout around 35% (much lower than turnout for the lower chamber). Further elections were held in accordance with the Constitution every two years after that.

The Senate has received criticism^{[by whom?]} for being essentially powerless and unnecessary for a country of the size of the Czech Republic. However, the likely most prominent critic of Czech Senate, former prime minister Andrej Babiš, has expressed his plan to change the electoral into Chamber of Deputies into First-past-the-post voting, something that cannot be done without consent of the Senate, plus the Czech Constitution prohibits such system for lower chamber.

Results of the 2022 Czech Senate election.

More information Party, First round ...


Party		First round			Second round			Seats
Party		Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats	Won	Not up	Total
	ANO 2011	244,516	21.98	1	149,331	31.12	2	3	2	5
	Civic Democratic Party	151,908	13.65	0	111,071	23.15	8	8	15	23
	KDU-ČSL	120,972	10.87	1	74,696	15.57	6	7	5	12
	Freedom and Direct Democracy	85,855	7.72	0	2,791	0.58	0	0	0	0
	Mayors and Independents	75,406	6.78	0	6,410	1.34	0	0	15	15
	TOP 09	73,473	6.60	1	33,341	6.95	2	3	3	6
	Czech Social Democratic Party	43,870	3.94	0	10,344	2.16	0	0	1	1
	Independents	32,431	2.92	0	9,031	1.88	1	1	0	1
	Czech Pirate Party	28,302	2.54	0				0	2	2
	Senator 21	27,672	2.49	0	21,051	4.39	1	1	3	4
	PRO 2022	27,048	2.43	0				0	0	0
	Mayors for the Liberec Region	19,613	1.76	0	14,000	2.92	1	1	1	2
	Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia	17,612	1.58	0				0	0	0
	Tricolour Citizens' Movement	14,832	1.33	0				0	0	0
	Tábor 2020	14,186	1.28	0	10,676	2.23	1	1	0	1
	Svobodní	11,730	1.05	0				0	1	1
	South Bohemians 2020	10,718	0.96	0	9,289	1.94	0	0	0	0
	Green Party	8,828	0.79	0				0	0	0
	ProMOST	8,672	0.78	0	6,747	1.41	1	1	0	1
	Union of Democrats – Association of Independents	8,608	0.77	0	4,729	0.99	0	0	0	0
	Moravian Land Movement	6,556	0.59	0				0	0	0
	Movement for Prague 11	6,524	0.59	0	5,569	1.16	0	0	0	0
	For Plzen	4,683	0.42	0				0	0	0
	For Health	4,276	0.38	0				0	0	0
	Choice for the Region	4,226	0.38	0				0	0	0
	Karlovy Vary Civic Alternative	3,972	0.36	0				0	0	0
	Manifest.cz	3,319	0.30	0				0	0	0
	Ústí Citizen's Forum	3,084	0.28	0				0	0	0
	Safety, Responsibility, Solidarity	3,083	0.28	0				0	0	0
	No Movement	2,822	0.25	0				0	0	0
	For Sport and Healthy Milestone	2,768	0.25	0				0	0	0
	Freeholder Party of the Czech Republic	2,617	0.24	0				0	0	0
	Independent for Prague 10	1,984	0.18	0				0	0	0
	Domov	1,811	0.16	0				0	0	0
	Party of Common Sense	1,587	0.14	0				0	0	0
	Czech National Socialist Party	1,478	0.13	0				0	0	0
	Přísaha	1,471	0.13	0				0	0	0
	PES Movement	1,187	0.11	0				0	0	0
	Doma	1,040	0.09	0				0	0	0
	Moravané	954	0.09	0				0	0	0
	Heart for ...	693	0.06	0				0	0	0
	State Party Direct Democracy – Labour Party	396	0.04	0				0	0	0
	National Democracy	290	0.03	0				0	0	0
	Democratic Party of Greens	269	0.02	0				0	0	0
	Hradec Králové Democratic Club							–	1	1
	Marek Hilšer for Senate							–	1	1
	Ostravak							–	1	1
	Independents	25,177	2.26	0	10,707	2.23	1	1	3	4
Total		1,112,519	100.00	3	479,783	100.00	24	27	54	81

Valid votes		1,112,519	96.47		479,783	99.60
Invalid/blank votes		40,670	3.53		1,947	0.40
Total votes		1,153,189	100.00		481,730	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		2,749,658	41.94		2,479,869	19.43
Source: Volby

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Elected senators

More information Dictrict, Senator ...

27 districts up for election
Dictrict	Senator	Party	Note
1 – Karlovy Vary	Věra Procházková	ANO 2011
4 – Most	Jan Paparega	ProMOST
7 – Pilsen-City	Daniela Kovářová	Ind.
10 – Český Krumlov	Tomáš Jirsa	ODS
13 – Tábor	Marek Slabý	T2020
16 – Beroun	Jiří Oberfalzer	ODS
19 – Prague 11	Hana Kordová Marvanová	ODS
22 – Prague 10	Jan Pirk	TOP 09
25 – Prague 6	Jiří Růžička	TOP 09
28 – Mělník	Jarmila Smotlachová	ODS
31 – Ústí nad Labem	Martin Krsek	SEN 21
34 – Liberec	Michael Canov	SLK
37 – Jičín	Tomáš Czernin	TOP 09
40 – Kutná Hora	Bohuslav Procházka	KDU-ČSL
43 – Pardubice	Miluše Horská	KDU-ČSL
46 – Ústí nad Orlicí	Petr Fiala	KDU-ČSL
49 – Blansko	Jaromíra Vítková	KDU-ČSL
52 – Jihlava	Miloš Vystrčil	ODS
55 – Brno-City	Tomáš Töpfer	ODS
58 – Brno-City	Jiří Dušek	ODS	Originally elected for ANO 2011.
61 – Olomouc	Lumír Kantor	KDU-ČSL
64 – Bruntál	Ladislav Václavec	ANO 2011
67 – Nový Jičín	Ivana Váňová	KDU-ČSL
70 – Ostrava-City	Zdeněk Nytra	ODS
73 – Frýdek-Místek	Zdeněk Matušek	ANO 2011
76 – Kroměříž	Jana Zwyrtek Hamplová	NEZ
79 – Hodonín	Eva Rajchmanová	KDU-ČSL

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More information Party, Seats ...

Composition of the Senate of the Czech Republic
Party		Seats
Party		2016 ^{[lower-alpha 25]}	2018	2020	TOTAL
	Mayors and Independents	3	5	11	19 / 81
	Civic Democratic Party	3	10	5	18 / 81
	Christian and Democratic Union – Czechoslovak People's Party	7	2	3	12 / 81
	ANO 2011	3	1	1	5 / 81
	TOP 09	2	1	2	5 / 81
	Czech Social Democratic Party	2	1	—	3 / 81
	Senator 21	—	1	2	3 / 81
	Czech Pirate Party	—	1	1	2 / 81
	Green Party	1	—	—	1 / 81
	Svobodní	—	—	1	1 / 81
	Severočeši.cz	1	—	—	1 / 81
	Ostravak Movement	—	1	—	1 / 81
	Hradec Králové Democratic Club	—	—	1	1 / 81
	Movement for Prague 11	1	—	—	1 / 81
	Marek Hilšer for Senate	—	1	—	1 / 81
	United Democrats — Association of Independents	1	—	—	1 / 81
	Citizens Together — Independents	1	—	—	1 / 81
	Citizens Patriots	1	—	—	1 / 81
	Independents	1	3	—	4 / 81
Total		27	27	27	81
Tomáš Goláň was elected as non-partisan, nominated by SEN 21, shortly after election he defected to and became member of ODS. Jaroslav Chalupský is non-partisan, nominated by Svobodní. Zdeněk Hraba was elected as non-partisan, nominated by STAN, he changed club during his term. Tomáš Töpfer, Jan Pirk, Hana Kordová Marvanová, Marek Slabý and Jiří Růžička are non-partisans, nominated by coalition of ODS, TOP 09 and KDU-ČSL and possibly other local parties. Jiří Dušek is non-partisan, nominated by coalition of ODS, ČSSD and local parties. ODS (21)^{[lower-alpha 1]} TOP 09 (4) Svobodní (1)^{[lower-alpha 2]} ProMOST (1) non-partisans (9)^{[lower-alpha 3]}^{[lower-alpha 4]} ^{[lower-alpha 5]} Hana Žáková, Miroslav Balatka, Miroslav Plevný, Jan Sobotka, Pavel Karník, Helena Pešatová and Karel Zitterbart are non-partisans, nominated by STAN. David Smoljak is a member of STAN, nominated by coalition of STAN, Pirates and TOP 09. Jiří Vosecký is member of SLK nominated by STAN and SLK. Zdeněk Linhart is non-partisan, nominated by STAN and SLK. Mikuláš Bek is non-partisan, nominated by coalition of Greens, ODS, TOP 09 and STAN; Jiří Drahoš is non-partisan, nominated by coalition of KDU-ČSL, Greens, STAN and TOP 09. STAN (11)^{[lower-alpha 7]}^{[lower-alpha 8]} SLK (3) ^{[lower-alpha 9]}^{[lower-alpha 10]} Ostravak (1) MHS (1) non-partisans (2)^{[lower-alpha 11]} Miluše Horská, Josef Klement and Lumír Kantor are non-partisans, nominated by KDU-ČSL. Petr Fiala is a member of SproK nominated by coalition of SproK and KDU-ČSL. Jaromíra Vítková, Ivana Váňová and Eva Rajchmanová are non-partisans, nominated by coalition of KDU-ČSL, ODS and TOP 09. KDU-ČSL (8)^{[lower-alpha 13]} SproK (1) ^{[lower-alpha 14]} non-partisans (3) ^{[lower-alpha 15]} Přemysl Rabas and Martin Krsek are non-partisans, nominated by SEN21. Adéla Šípová is non-partisan, nominated by Pirates. Jan Holásek is non-partisan, nominated by coalition of HDK, TOP 09, Greens, LES and SEN 21. Pavel Fischer is independently elected non-partisan. SEN 21 (3) ^{[lower-alpha 17]} Pirates (2) ^{[lower-alpha 18]} HDK (1)^{[lower-alpha 19]} Non-affiliated (1)^{[lower-alpha 20]} Ladislav Václavec and Miroslav Adámek are non-partisans, nominated by ANO. Zdeněk Matušek was elected as non-partisan, nominated by ANO and ČSSD. ANO (4)^{[lower-alpha 22]} ČSSD (1) non-partisan (1) ^{[lower-alpha 23]} Includes the 2017 re-run in constituency 4 Sources: Senate, cs:Volby do Senátu Parlamentu České republiky 2016, cs:Volby do Senátu Parlamentu České republiky 2018 Volby.cz, cs:Volby do Senátu Parlamentu České republiky 2020, Constituencies in which the election was held: 2016: 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31, 34, 37, 40, 43, 46, 49, 52, 55, 58, 61, 64, 67, 70, 73, 76, 79 2018: 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 23, 26, 29, 32, 35, 38, 41, 44, 47, 50, 53, 56, 59, 62, 65, 68, 71, 74, 77, 80 2020: 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 36, 39, 42, 45, 48, 51, 54, 57, 60, 63, 66, 69, 72, 75, 78, 81

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[1]
Senators Senate website
[2]
Senate Committees Senat website
[3]
Senate Commissions Senate website
[4]
Ústavní zmìny v dobì od pádu komunismu Bulletin Scientia Politica (in Czech)

Official website
Kysela, Jan (n.d.). "Bicameralism in the Czech Republic: Reasons, Functions, Perspectives". Retrieved 9 October 2021.

50°05′24″N 14°24′19″E

[b-1] Tomáš Goláň was elected as non-partisan, nominated by SEN 21, shortly after election he defected to and became member of ODS.

[c-2] Jaroslav Chalupský is non-partisan, nominated by Svobodní.

[d-3] Zdeněk Hraba was elected as non-partisan, nominated by STAN, he changed club during his term.

[e-4] Tomáš Töpfer, Jan Pirk, Hana Kordová Marvanová, Marek Slabý and Jiří Růžička are non-partisans, nominated by coalition of ODS, TOP 09 and KDU-ČSL and possibly other local parties.

[f-5] Jiří Dušek is non-partisan, nominated by coalition of ODS, ČSSD and local parties.

[a-6] ODS (21)^{[lower-alpha 1]}

TOP 09 (4)

Svobodní (1)^{[lower-alpha 2]}

ProMOST (1)

non-partisans (9)^{[lower-alpha 3]}^{[lower-alpha 4]} ^{[lower-alpha 5]}

[7] ODS (21)^{[lower-alpha 1]}

[8] TOP 09 (4)

[9] Svobodní (1)^{[lower-alpha 2]}

[10] ProMOST (1)

[11] -partisans (9)^{[lower-alpha 3]}^{[lower-alpha 4]} ^{[lower-alpha 5]}

[h-7] Hana Žáková, Miroslav Balatka, Miroslav Plevný, Jan Sobotka, Pavel Karník, Helena Pešatová and Karel Zitterbart are non-partisans, nominated by STAN.

[i-8] David Smoljak is a member of STAN, nominated by coalition of STAN, Pirates and TOP 09.

[j-9] Jiří Vosecký is member of SLK nominated by STAN and SLK.

[k-10] Zdeněk Linhart is non-partisan, nominated by STAN and SLK.

[l-11] Mikuláš Bek is non-partisan, nominated by coalition of Greens, ODS, TOP 09 and STAN; Jiří Drahoš is non-partisan, nominated by coalition of KDU-ČSL, Greens, STAN and TOP 09.

[g-12] STAN (11)^{[lower-alpha 7]}^{[lower-alpha 8]}

SLK (3) ^{[lower-alpha 9]}^{[lower-alpha 10]}

Ostravak (1)

MHS (1)

non-partisans (2)^{[lower-alpha 11]}

[18] STAN (11)^{[lower-alpha 7]}^{[lower-alpha 8]}

[19] SLK (3) ^{[lower-alpha 9]}^{[lower-alpha 10]}

[20] Ostravak (1)

[21] MHS (1)

[22] -partisans (2)^{[lower-alpha 11]}

[n-13] Miluše Horská, Josef Klement and Lumír Kantor are non-partisans, nominated by KDU-ČSL.

[o-14] Petr Fiala is a member of SproK nominated by coalition of SproK and KDU-ČSL.

[p-15] Jaromíra Vítková, Ivana Váňová and Eva Rajchmanová are non-partisans, nominated by coalition of KDU-ČSL, ODS and TOP 09.

[m-16] KDU-ČSL (8)^{[lower-alpha 13]}

SproK (1) ^{[lower-alpha 14]}

non-partisans (3) ^{[lower-alpha 15]}

[27] KDU-ČSL (8)^{[lower-alpha 13]}

[28] SproK (1) ^{[lower-alpha 14]}

[29] -partisans (3) ^{[lower-alpha 15]}

[r-17] Přemysl Rabas and Martin Krsek are non-partisans, nominated by SEN21.

[s-18] Adéla Šípová is non-partisan, nominated by Pirates.

[t-19] Jan Holásek is non-partisan, nominated by coalition of HDK, TOP 09, Greens, LES and SEN 21.

[u-20] Pavel Fischer is independently elected non-partisan.

[q-21] SEN 21 (3) ^{[lower-alpha 17]}

Pirates (2) ^{[lower-alpha 18]}

HDK (1)^{[lower-alpha 19]}

Non-affiliated (1)^{[lower-alpha 20]}

[35] SEN 21 (3) ^{[lower-alpha 17]}

[36] Pirates (2) ^{[lower-alpha 18]}

[37] HDK (1)^{[lower-alpha 19]}

[38] Non-affiliated (1)^{[lower-alpha 20]}

[w-22] Ladislav Václavec and Miroslav Adámek are non-partisans, nominated by ANO.

[x-23] Zdeněk Matušek was elected as non-partisan, nominated by ANO and ČSSD.

[v-24] ANO (4)^{[lower-alpha 22]}

ČSSD (1)

non-partisan (1) ^{[lower-alpha 23]}

[42] ANO (4)^{[lower-alpha 22]}

[43] ČSSD (1)

[44] -partisan (1) ^{[lower-alpha 23]}

[29] Includes the 2017 re-run in constituency 4

[25] [1]
Senators Senate website

[26] [2]
Senate Committees Senat website

[27] [3]
Senate Commissions Senate website

[28] [4]
Ústavní zmìny v dobì od pádu komunismu Bulletin Scientia Politica (in Czech)

[lower-alpha 6]

[lower-alpha 12]

[lower-alpha 16]

[lower-alpha 21]

[lower-alpha 24]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[lower-alpha 25]

[lower-alpha 1]

[lower-alpha 2]

[lower-alpha 3]

[lower-alpha 4]

[lower-alpha 5]

[lower-alpha 7]

[lower-alpha 8]

[lower-alpha 9]

[lower-alpha 10]

[lower-alpha 11]

[lower-alpha 13]

[lower-alpha 14]

[lower-alpha 15]

[lower-alpha 17]

[lower-alpha 18]

[lower-alpha 19]

[lower-alpha 20]

[lower-alpha 22]

[lower-alpha 23]

Senate of the Czech Republic

Elected senators

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Structure

Powers

History

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Current composition of the Senate

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References

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