Czech Television announced on 6 October 2026 that the leaders of five parties who are standing in municipal or Senate elections will not appear in the final pre-election Superdebata.
Czech Television announced on 6 October 2026 that it will not allow the leaders of the opposition parties ODS, the Czech Pirate Party, KDU-ČSL and TOP 09, and of the coalition party Motoristé sobě, to appear in the final pre-election Superdebata. According to the broadcaster, the reason is that they are standing in municipal or Senate elections, and its rules for pre-election broadcasting do not permit candidates in these elections to appear. The broadcaster's spokesperson Michal Pleskot told the Czech News Agency. The final Superdebata is to take place on Thursday 8 October 2026; the broadcaster has not yet announced the participants.[1][2]
The leaders' letter and the reply
The broadcaster was responding to a letter in which four party leaders asked it to let them take part. They were answered by Petr Mrzena, director of the news division. According to him, the editorial team concluded after consideration that the long-applied pre-election rules are set correctly, because they oblige the broadcaster to be balanced and impartial.[1][2] The leader of Motoristé sobě, Petr Macinka, did not join the appeal.[1]
The leaders' candidacies
The ODS leader Martin Kupka is standing for the municipal council in Líbeznice, the KDU-ČSL leader Jan Grolich for the Senate in the Vyškov area, the Pirate leader Zdeněk Hřib for the assembly of the Capital City of Prague, and the TOP 09 leader Matěj Ondřej Havel in Hradec Králové. Macinka is also standing for the Prague assembly.[1][2]
Statement of Czech Television
Pleskot said that politicians standing in these elections may not appear in pre-election programmes unless their competitors are represented as well, and that the rules had been published well in advance. According to him, the Superdebata does not serve to present individual candidates but to inform viewers about the ideas of the strongest political groupings on the topic of the election, which is why representatives of parties that are not standing themselves are welcome. He added that the parties' positions can also be represented by other members of their leadership.[1][2]
Related articles: Czech Pirate Party, Czech Television, KDU-ČSL, ODS, Superdebata, TOP 09
Chronology
- — Czech Television announced that the chairs of ODS, the Pirates, KDU-ČSL, TOP 09 and Motoristé will not appear in the final pre-election Superdebate, because they are standing in the municipal or Senate elections, in which the broadcaster's rules do not allow such appearances. ČTK / České noviny FORUM 24
Sources
- ČTK / České noviny — 6 October 2026
- FORUM 24 — 6 October 2026