The municipal elections and the first round of the Senate elections in the Czech Republic take place on 9 and 10 October 2026. Municipal councils are elected across the country, as well as one third of the Senate districts where senators' terms are ending.[1]*
Call to vote on Old Town Square
On 28 September 2026, the day of the feast of St Wenceslas, the association Million Moments for Democracy held a demonstration on Old Town Square in Prague, intended to motivate people to take part in the coming elections and to warn against voting for populists and extremists in the municipal elections.[1][2] The event lasted about an hour and a half and the square was largely filled, although it remained passable; the organisers did not state an estimate of the number of participants.[1]
Warning against a Senate majority of the governing parties
On site, the organisers handed out leaflets describing the Senate as a "bulwark against the concentration of power in the hands of the governing majority" and urged people to vote, noting that Senate elections are often decided by a few dozen votes.[1] The association's chairman Mikuláš Minář said that the Senate is one of the last institutions that do not belong to the Agrofert holding, and called for Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) to receive as few seats as possible.[1][2] He also said that the association would work to ensure that "by 2029 at the latest Andrej Babiš ends up like his great friend Viktor Orbán in Hungary", referring to Orbán's election defeat.[1] According to Minář, another demonstration by the association was to take place by 17 November 2026 at the latest.[1]
Speakers
Speakers on the stage included the Evangelical pastor and former dissident Miloš Rejchrt, Slovak political scientist Hana Kubátová, Tomáš Kopečný, the former government commissioner for the reconstruction of Ukraine, the association's deputy chair Mariana Novotná Nachtigallová, Pavol Salai of the organisation Reporters Without Borders, and the singer-songwriter Jaroslav Hutka.[1][2] Kopečný warned that Russian aggression towards European countries, including Czechia, will worsen, and called for participation in the municipal elections.[1][2] The speakers also criticised the government's plan to abolish the funding of Czech Television and Czech Radio through licence fees, and attacks by members of the cabinet on the president, the media, the judiciary and active citizens.[1]
Link to the Havel anniversary
The event, held on the feast of St Wenceslas, was also meant to recall the legacy of President Václav Havel on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of his birth, which falls on 5 October 2026.[1]
Sources
- ČTK / České noviny — 28 September 2026
- iDNES.cz — 28 September 2026