Prime Minister Andrej Babiš cast his vote in the municipal elections in Průhonice near Prague on the afternoon of Friday, 9 October 2026, and summed up the expectations of the ANO movement for journalists.
Prime Minister and chairman of the ANO movement Andrej Babiš cast his vote in the municipal elections in Průhonice near Prague on the afternoon of Friday, 9 October 2026. He came to the ballot box with his wife. He then spoke to journalists [1][2][3].
Expectations of the ANO movement
According to Babiš, defending the 2022 result would be a success for the movement. He described the elections as important because in them people decide on the running of their municipalities and towns. From the government's point of view, the most significant matter, in his words, is the composition of the new leadership of Prague. For him it is also important who becomes mayor of Průhonice, where he lives [1][2][3].
He recalled that four years ago ANO was in opposition and he himself then travelled around the country in the campaign. This year, he said, he had less time for campaigning because of government duties. He is looking forward to the end of the campaign, which, in his words, was also accompanied by personal attacks [1][2][3].
Prague and cooperation with the government
Babiš said that, in his impression, the opposition is again choosing a strategy of isolating the ANO movement and thereby the government. In his view this is not good for Prague. He stressed that the state funds projects in the capital in healthcare, education, transport and culture, and that cooperation between the government and Prague City Hall could also help with housing construction. If the new city leadership rejected cooperation, residents would above all pay for it, in his words [1][2][3].
Senate elections
The first round of the Senate elections was held concurrently with the municipal elections. Babiš said he cannot yet estimate how many ANO candidates will advance to the second round. According to him, the movement is ready to support them then within its time constraints. He criticised the Senate of the Czech Republic for returning government bills mainly for political reasons. He gave no estimate of overall turnout and recalled his earlier appeal for people to come to vote [1][2][3].
Results from 2022
In the 2022 municipal elections ANO won 1,748 seats in municipal leadership. In the Prague assembly the Spolu coalition won the most seats at that time, 19. ANO took 14 seats and remained in opposition [1][2][3].
The wider context of the elections is described in the article Municipal council elections in Czechia 2026.
Related articles: 2026 municipal and Senate elections, Amnesty International, ANO, Government Council for Human Rights
Chronology
- — After the municipal elections and the first round of the Senate elections, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) said that the ANO movement is the strongest political force in the country at all levels except the Senate and that the governing coalition with the SPD and the Motorists will last until the regular elections in 2029. ČTK / České noviny Echo24
- — Prime Minister Andrej Babiš cast his vote in the municipal elections in Průhonice and said that defending the 2022 result would be a success for the ANO movement. ČTK / České noviny Pražský deník
- — 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
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Prime minister's statement on the election results of 10 October
Prime Minister and chairman of the ANO movement Andrej Babiš commented on the results of the municipal elections and the first round of the Senate elections on 10 October 2026 at a press conference at the movement's election headquarters in Prague. In his view, the municipal elections confirmed that ANO is the strongest political force in the country at all levels except the Senate of the Czech Republic, and the movement came close to its 2022 result, when, as an opposition party, it had more time for the campaign. According to Babiš, the Senate elections were also successful for ANO, although he expects the other parties to unite against the movement's candidates before the second round.[4][5]
According to Babiš, the governing coalition of ANO, SPD and Motoristé sobě will last until the regular elections in 2029. He said that if the leaders of towns and municipalities want to cooperate, the government will cooperate with them, and he spoke mainly about Prague, where ANO was in fourth place in the interim count. In big cities, he said, ANO prefers coalitions modelled on the governing coalition. Whether the new leadership of the capital will want to cooperate with the government on big infrastructure projects depends on it, Babiš said.[4]
Babiš called the election result very good. He criticised that national topics dominated the municipal elections and that the campaign was, in his view, untrue, citing as an example the criticism of the proposed state budget deficit. He attributed the failure in Prague to a long-running campaign against himself. According to Echo24, he also said that the ANO movement is here to stay.[4][5]
Sources
- ČTK / České noviny — 9 October 2026
- Pražský deník — 9 October 2026
- Ekonomický deník — 9 October 2026
- ČTK / České noviny — 10 October 2026
- Echo24 — 10 October 2026