Czech Republic Parliamentary Elections 2017

Over the next two days, the typical daily routine of Czech citizens will be interrupted for a very important reason: today and tomorrow, citizens go to the polls to elect a new government. Soon after, the country will have elected a new Chamber of Deputies – a 200-seat house – as well as a new Prime Minister. Over the next four years, the Prime Minister and members of Parliament will work together, shaping the future of the Czech Republic.

Today’s Doodle celebrates the tradition of civic engagement. Happy voting!

The 2017 Czech legislative election is being held in the Czech Republic on 20 and 21 October 2017. All 200 members of the Chamber of Deputies will be elected and the leader of the resultant government will become the Prime Minister.

Since the previous election in 2013, the government has been a coalition of the two largest parties: the Social Democratic Party (ČSSD) of Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka, and ANO 2011 (ANO), led by former Finance Minister and businessman Andrej Babiš, alongside the Christian Democratic Union (KDU-ČSL). The largest opposition party is the Communist Party with 33 seats, followed by centre-right parties TOP 09 (26 seats) and the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) with 16 seats in the chamber.

Opinion polling has shown ANO leading since early 2014, with their lead gradually increasing to double digits. The Social Democrats have been losing ground since early 2017, polling in the low double figures from May 2017. Polls indicate that several other parties, including the Communist Party, the Civic Democrats, KDU-ČSL and TOP 09, are likely to re-enter the Chamber of Deputies, with support fluctuating between 5% and 12%.

Across all parties, 7,524 candidates stood for election, setting a national record.^[2]