At the proposal of the opposition parties ODS, STAN, the Czech Pirate Party, KDU-ČSL and TOP 09, the Speaker of the lower house, Tomio Okamura, convened an extraordinary session of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic for 29 September 2026 to vote on no confidence in the government of Andrej Babiš; on 1 October 2026 the lower house did not pass the vote of no confidence.
The motion of no confidence in the government of Andrej Babiš (ANO) was the opposition's second attempt to remove the cabinet since it took office. The proposal to convene an extraordinary session of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic was submitted on 25 September 2026 by the opposition parties ODS, STAN, the Czech Pirate Party, KDU-ČSL and TOP 09, and it was signed by all 92 opposition deputies [1][2]. The Speaker of the lower house, Tomio Okamura (SPD), convened the session on the basis of this proposal for Tuesday 29 September at 14:00, with the debate expected to continue on Wednesday [1][3]. The session was scheduled ten days before the municipal and Senate elections [1].
Reasons for the motion
The opposition justified the attempt to bring down the government with three groups of issues: the size of the deficit in the draft state budget for next year, which according to the opposition was to be the second highest in the history of the Czech Republic; the unresolved conflict of interest of Prime Minister Andrej Babiš; and the government's approach to constitutional institutions, courts, the non-profit sector and the media [1][2][3]. The ODS chairman Martin Kupka said that the Babiš government was changing the character of the Czech Republic for the worse and that the motion was not an empty gesture but a step in defence of responsible management of public finances [1]. The chairman of the Czech Pirate Party, Zdeněk Hřib, described the cabinet as incompetent or manipulated and said that the government showed contempt for democratic institutions and independent courts [1]. The chairmen of TOP 09, Matěj Ondřej Havel, and of STAN, Vít Rakušan, criticised the government for its approach to national security and the Russian threat and called its conduct a gamble with national security [1]. The KDU-ČSL chairman Jan Grolich said that the budget directly contradicted the government's earlier promises; he also expected the motion to fail, but in his view every government deputy would get the chance to publicly take a stand on the government [1].
Balance of power in the lower house
For the lower house to express no confidence in the government, at least 101 of the 200 deputies must vote for it [1][3]. The governing coalition of ANO, SPD and Motoristé sobě held 108 seats [1][3]. Even if all 92 opposition deputies supported the vote, they would still need at least nine votes from the government camp [3]. The Speaker of the lower house, Tomio Okamura, called the opposition's move a pre-election gesture [3]. The cabinet was expected to survive the vote [2][3].
The previous no-confidence attempt
This was the second vote of no confidence in the government of Andrej Babiš since it was formed. The first attempt took place at the beginning of February 2026 and was triggered by the sharpening of the conflict between the Motoristé sobě movement and President Petr Pavel, who refused to appoint the honorary chairman of Motoristé sobě, Filip Turek, as minister of the environment [1][3]. The opening day of that debate lasted about twelve hours and the discussion continued the following day; members of the government accused the opposition of delaying the cabinet's work, while opposition deputies criticised the government mainly over its handling of the conflict surrounding Petr Macinka and the president [3]. The government survived that vote [1][3].
Result of the vote
The lower house voted on the motion on 1 October 2026, after three days of proceedings; the debate lasted roughly 27.5 hours of net time [4][5]. Voting in favour of no confidence were 83 opposition deputies present, against were 94 coalition deputies; nine opposition and 14 coalition deputies were excused [4][5]. At least 101 votes would have been needed to bring down the government, so the cabinet of ANO, SPD and Motoristé sobě continues to govern with the confidence of the lower house [4][5]. Of the 22 attempts so far to pass a vote of no confidence in a government in the history of the independent Czech Republic, only one succeeded, in 2009 against the government of Mirek Topolánek [5].
Related articles: Amnesty International, ANO, Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, Government Council for Human Rights, Motoristé sobě
Chronology
- — The Chamber of Deputies did not pass the opposition's motion of no confidence in the government of Andrej Babiš; 83 deputies voted in favour. ČTK / České noviny iROZHLAS
- — After several days of debate, the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic voted on the opposition motion of no confidence in the government of Andrej Babiš (ANO, SPD and Motoristé). ČT24 ČTK / České noviny
- — Prime Minister Andrej Babiš held talks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on emission allowances and on funding for farmers within the European Union. Novinky.cz FORUM 24
- — Human rights organisations, including Amnesty International, called on Prime Minister Andrej Babiš to revoke the appointment of three new members of the Government Council for Human Rights. ČTK / České noviny iDNES.cz
- — The opposition parties ODS, STAN, the Pirates, KDU-ČSL and TOP 09 filed a proposal to convene a Chamber of Deputies session on a vote of no confidence in the government of Andrej Babiš, signed by all 92 opposition deputies; they cited the size of the draft budget deficit, the prime minister's unresolved conflict of interest and the government's conduct towards institutions. ČTK / České noviny ČT24
Pages linking here
- Amnesty International
- ANO
- Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic
- Government Council for Human Rights
- Motoristé sobě
Result of the vote on 1 October 2026
The Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic voted on the opposition motion of no confidence in the government on 1 October 2026, after three days of proceedings. The debate lasted roughly 27.5 hours of net time [6].
In favour of the motion voted 83 deputies present from the opposition parties ODS, STAN, the Czech Pirate Party, KDU-ČSL and TOP 09, against it 94 coalition deputies. At least 101 votes were needed to express no confidence, that is, a majority of all 200 deputies. Nine opposition deputies and fourteen deputies of the governing coalition were excused. The government of ANO, SPD and Motoristé sobě therefore remained in office [6].
The opposition justified the session by the size of the deficit in the proposed state budget for next year, by what it described as the prime minister's unresolved conflict of interest, and by the government's conduct towards institutions. The coalition used the proceedings to present the cabinet's work so far [6].
It was the second opposition attempt to pass a vote of no confidence in this government; the first took place at the beginning of February 2026. Of the 22 attempts so far to pass a vote of no confidence in a government in the independent Czech Republic, only one succeeded, in 2009 against the cabinet of Mirek Topolánek [6].
Course of the debate and reactions after the vote
The Tuesday proceedings of 29 September 2026 were dominated by speeches of members of the government, led by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš. Other coalition representatives spoke on Wednesday 30 September, after which representatives of the opposition took the floor. Deputies reached the ordinary debate only in the afternoon, and almost sixty deputies signed up to speak in it. The lower house adjourned the session at 21:00 and continued on Thursday 1 October; 37 deputies, mostly from the opposition, still wanted to speak in the ordinary debate. Speeches on the motion had by then taken up 19 hours of net time.[7][8]
Speeches in the debate
The TOP 09 deputy Michal Kučera said that confidence cannot be voted or ordered, and that the cabinet must earn it by governing the country, managing the economy and respecting rules and institutions. The Pirate Samuel Volpe called the one-off payment of 2,000 crowns that the government wants to send to old-age pensioners next year a bribe; Minister of Labour Aleš Juchelka (ANO) replied that the Pirates divide society into the young and the rest.[8]
Reproaches over the cost of the lower house's proceedings were heard from both coalition and opposition benches. Minister of the Environment Igor Červený (Motoristé sobě) said that the lower house was needlessly investing money in the Senate campaign of the KDU-ČSL chairman Jan Grolich, who announced the intention to convene the session three weeks in advance. The Pirate deputy Jana Patková, working from Červený's figure of about 400,000 crowns per hour for the proceedings, calculated that Andrej Babiš's two-hour speech on Tuesday had cost almost 700,000 crowns and the speeches of other ministers about three million.[8]
Reactions after the vote
The ODS chairman Martin Kupka said it had been important to confront the government with its failure to keep the promises made to voters; in his view the afternoon part of the session was not entirely dignified and turned into waiting for Babiš to return to work. Minister of Finance Alena Schillerová (ANO) said that the opposition's basic interest had been to gain media space, and recalled that Jan Grolich is running for the Senate and many deputies for municipal councils.[6]
Schillerová and the Speaker of the lower house, Tomio Okamura (SPD), named the approaching elections as one cause of the tenser atmosphere. Both expressed the conviction that cooperation between the opposition and the coalition would resume; Okamura said that it had so far been possible to reach agreements.[6]
The STAN chairman Vít Rakušan said that the government withstood the vote because it was backed also by deputies who had sought voters' support with a promise of consolidating public finances and keeping Babiš in check; in his words, "today they only protected their comfortable posts" in the governing coalition. The chairman of the Czech Pirate Party, Zdeněk Hřib, said that the government had used its majority in the lower house to express confidence in itself again.[6]
Result of the vote
The Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic voted on the motion on 1 October 2026, the third day of proceedings. In favour of no confidence voted 83 deputies of the opposition parties ODS, STAN, the Czech Pirate Party, KDU-ČSL and TOP 09, against it 94 coalition deputies. At least 101 votes were needed to adopt the motion, that is, a majority of the 200 deputies. Nine opposition deputies and fourteen coalition deputies were excused from the vote.[6] The debate lasted about 27.5 hours of net time in total.[6]
The opposition justified the session by the deficit of the draft state budget for next year, by what it described as the prime minister's unresolved conflict of interest, and by the government's conduct towards institutions.[6] After the second day of proceedings, 30 September, the net time of speeches was about 19 hours, and 37 people were still signed up to speak in the lower house, mostly from opposition ranks.[8]
The ODS chairman Martin Kupka said after the vote that the aim had been to confront the government with unfulfilled promises. Minister of Finance Alena Schillerová (ANO) said that the session served opposition deputies to gain media space before the elections. The STAN chairman Vít Rakušan described the result as a consequence of support for the government from deputies who had promised the consolidation of public finances before the elections.[6]
The opposition tried to bring about a vote of no confidence for the second time. The first time, the government survived the vote at the beginning of February 2026. Since the creation of the independent Czech Republic, 22 motions of no confidence in a government have been filed and only one succeeded, in 2009 against the government of Mirek Topolánek.[6]
Sources
- ČTK / České noviny — 25 September 2026
- ČT24 — 25 September 2026
- FORUM 24 — 25 September 2026
- ČTK / České noviny — 1 October 2026
- Echo24 — 1 October 2026
- ČTK / České noviny — 1 October 2026
- ČT24
- ČTK / České noviny