Senate of the Czech Republic

The Senate (Czech: Senát Parlamentu České republiky), literally "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.

Senate

Senát Parlamentu České republiky
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Leadership
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
Seats81
Political groups
Supporting government (73)

Opposition (8)

Elections
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

Structure

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.

Powers

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.

History

Polling station of the electoral district no. 70 in Olomouc during Czech Senate elections and the regional elections held in the Czech Republic on 7 October 2016

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 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.

Latest election results

Results of the 2022 Czech Senate election.

PartyFirst roundSecond roundSeats
Votes%SeatsVotes%SeatsWonNot upTotal
ANO 2011244,51621.981149,33131.122325
Civic Democratic Party151,90813.650111,07123.15881523
KDU-ČSL120,97210.87174,69615.5767512
Freedom and Direct Democracy85,8557.7202,7910.580000
Mayors and Independents75,4066.7806,4101.34001515
TOP 0973,4736.60133,3416.952336
Czech Social Democratic Party43,8703.94010,3442.160011
Independents32,4312.9209,0311.881101
Czech Pirate Party28,3022.540022
Senator 2127,6722.49021,0514.391134
PRO 202227,0482.430000
Mayors for the Liberec Region19,6131.76014,0002.921112
Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia17,6121.580000
Tricolour Citizens' Movement14,8321.330000
Tábor 202014,1861.28010,6762.231101
Svobodní11,7301.050011
South Bohemians 202010,7180.9609,2891.940000
Green Party8,8280.790000
ProMOST8,6720.7806,7471.411101
Union of Democrats – Association of Independents8,6080.7704,7290.990000
Moravian Land Movement6,5560.590000
Movement for Prague 116,5240.5905,5691.160000
For Plzen4,6830.420000
For Health4,2760.380000
Choice for the Region4,2260.380000
Karlovy Vary Civic Alternative3,9720.360000
Manifest.cz3,3190.300000
Ústí Citizen's Forum3,0840.280000
Safety, Responsibility, Solidarity3,0830.280000
No Movement2,8220.250000
For Sport and Healthy Milestone2,7680.250000
Freeholder Party of the Czech Republic2,6170.240000
Independent for Prague 101,9840.180000
Domov1,8110.160000
Party of Common Sense1,5870.140000
Czech National Socialist Party1,4780.130000
Přísaha1,4710.130000
PES Movement1,1870.110000
Doma1,0400.090000
Moravané9540.090000
Heart for ...6930.060000
State Party Direct Democracy – Labour Party3960.040000
National Democracy2900.030000
Democratic Party of Greens2690.020000
Hradec Králové Democratic Club11
Marek Hilšer for Senate11
Ostravak11
Independents25,1772.26010,7072.231134
Total1,112,519100.003479,783100.0024275481
Valid votes1,112,51996.47479,78399.60
Invalid/blank votes40,6703.531,9470.40
Total votes1,153,189100.00481,730100.00
Registered voters/turnout2,749,65841.942,479,86919.43
Source: Volby

Elected senators

27 districts up for election
DictrictSenatorPartyNote
1 – Karlovy VaryVěra ProcházkováANO 2011
4 – MostJan PaparegaProMOST
7 – Pilsen-CityDaniela KovářováInd.
10 – Český KrumlovTomáš JirsaODS
13 – TáborMarek SlabýT2020
16 – BerounJiří OberfalzerODS
19 – Prague 11Hana Kordová MarvanováODS
22 – Prague 10Jan PirkTOP 09
25 – Prague 6Jiří RůžičkaTOP 09
28 – MělníkJarmila SmotlachováODS
31 – Ústí nad LabemMartin KrsekSEN 21
34 – LiberecMichael CanovSLK
37 – JičínTomáš CzerninTOP 09
40 – Kutná HoraBohuslav ProcházkaKDU-ČSL
43 – PardubiceMiluše HorskáKDU-ČSL
46 – Ústí nad OrlicíPetr FialaKDU-ČSL
49 – BlanskoJaromíra VítkováKDU-ČSL
52 – JihlavaMiloš VystrčilODS
55 – Brno-CityTomáš TöpferODS
58 – Brno-CityJiří DušekODSOriginally elected for ANO 2011.
61 – OlomoucLumír KantorKDU-ČSL
64 – BruntálLadislav VáclavecANO 2011
67 – Nový JičínIvana VáňováKDU-ČSL
70 – Ostrava-CityZdeněk NytraODS
73 – Frýdek-MístekZdeněk MatušekANO 2011
76 – KroměřížJana Zwyrtek HamplováNEZ
79 – HodonínEva RajchmanováKDU-ČSL

Current composition of the Senate

Composition of the Senate of the Czech Republic
Party Seats
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
  1. Tomáš Goláň was elected as non-partisan, nominated by SEN 21, shortly after election he defected to and became member of ODS.
  2. Jaroslav Chalupský is non-partisan, nominated by Svobodní.
  3. Zdeněk Hraba was elected as non-partisan, nominated by STAN, he changed club during his term.
  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.
  5. Jiří Dušek is non-partisan, nominated by coalition of ODS, ČSSD and local parties.
  6. Hana Žáková, Miroslav Balatka, Miroslav Plevný, Jan Sobotka, Pavel Karník, Helena Pešatová and Karel Zitterbart are non-partisans, nominated by STAN.
  7. David Smoljak is a member of STAN, nominated by coalition of STAN, Pirates and TOP 09.
  8. Jiří Vosecký is member of SLK nominated by STAN and SLK.
  9. Zdeněk Linhart is non-partisan, nominated by STAN and SLK.
  10. 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.
  11. Miluše Horská, Josef Klement and Lumír Kantor are non-partisans, nominated by KDU-ČSL.
  12. Petr Fiala is a member of SproK nominated by coalition of SproK and KDU-ČSL.
  13. Jaromíra Vítková, Ivana Váňová and Eva Rajchmanová are non-partisans, nominated by coalition of KDU-ČSL, ODS and TOP 09.
  14. Přemysl Rabas and Martin Krsek are non-partisans, nominated by SEN21.
  15. Adéla Šípová is non-partisan, nominated by Pirates.
  16. Jan Holásek is non-partisan, nominated by coalition of HDK, TOP 09, Greens, LES and SEN 21.
  17. Pavel Fischer is independently elected non-partisan.
  18. Ladislav Václavec and Miroslav Adámek are non-partisans, nominated by ANO.
  19. Zdeněk Matušek was elected as non-partisan, nominated by ANO and ČSSD.
  20. 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

See also

Notes

    References

    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

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