Babiš: Prague was a total failure for ANO in the 2026 elections

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš called the results of the municipal elections in Prague a “total failure” for the ANO movement. In his Sunday video review of the week, published on social media, he admitted that the party had hoped for a better result in the capital and needs to draw conclusions.

At the same time, Babiš reminded viewers that ANO won the elections in Czechia by total votes and came first in six regional capitals: Karlovy Vary, Olomouc, Ostrava, Pardubice, Plzeň and Zlín. According to him, wherever the movement has capable local politicians, they win and receive more votes than before. As examples he cited Opava mayor Tomáš Navrátil, who achieved a historic 37%, and Plzeň mayor Roman Zarzycki: ANO won in Plzeň for the first time.

Why Prague is “hard” for ANO

ANO deputy speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Patrik Nacher also voiced disappointment. “Prague is hard for us,” he said in Sunday’s debate on Czech Television. According to him, list leader Jan Hušbauer took on the task at the last moment. When Nacher himself led the capital’s list, ANO received around 19% of the vote; now it got 14.35%, although he had counted on a result starting with a two. In total, the movement won 11 seats in Prague.

The setback in the capital was also acknowledged by the leader of the Motorists, Foreign Minister Petr Macinka. “I won’t hide that the result in Prague is bad for us and we need to think about it. On the other hand, I’m glad about the result in Ostrava,” the deputy prime minister said in a television debate. The Motorists won just 2.9% in Prague and were left without seats, while in Ostrava they got 7.71% and five seats. According to Macinka, the party is only beginning its journey: it fielded lists in 60 city councils and made it into eighteen of them.

Benda is upset too

The results in the capital did not please Marek Benda, a prominent long-time ODS figure, either: Prague used to be considered a stronghold of that traditional party. ODS once won up to 33% here, but now, as part of the Spolu pro Prahu coalition, it got 22% and 17 seats. “I admit I’m upset by the results in Prague, and I’m wondering why it turned out this way,” Benda said. He sees the reason in a combination of brand and popularity, and in the fact that list leader Tomáš Portlik failed to make enough of an impression on voters.

Benda congratulated the winner of the election, the STAN movement, which took 17 seats, together with its leader Petr Hlaváček, and expressed confidence that a coalition agreement would be reached soon.

STAN deputy speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Barbora Urbanová, by contrast, called the results excellent. She reminded everyone that it does not end here: the second round of the Senate elections will take place next weekend, and she urged people to head to the polls again. “We have 12 candidates there, and we’ve prepared well,” Urbanová said.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz