All 30 candidate lists submitted for participation in the June European Parliament (EP) elections in the Czech Republic have been approved, and none rejected, the Interior Ministry has announced on its website. This is nine fewer than in the previous elections.
Only one candidate list, submitted after the legal deadline, was rejected.
In the previous European elections five years ago, Czechs could choose from a record 39 lists.
This year’s European elections were also influenced by the fact that the number of coalitions running has nearly doubled to 11, up from six in the previous elections. This year, 19 individual parties have submitted their own candidate lists.
All the parties and movements represented in the Czech parliament have registered for the elections on 7-8 June, though only the opposition ANO and the junior government Pirates are running separately.
The government Civic Democrats (ODS), Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) and TOP 09 are running in the Spolu coalition, as in the previous general election in autumn 2021, while the coalition of Mayors and Personalities for Europe was formed by the junior government Mayors and Independents (STAN) and the Mayors for the Liberec Region (SLK).
The anti-EU, far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) has formed a list of candidates in coalition with the non-parliamentary Tricolour party.
The Communists (KSCM) are struggling to retain their representation in the European Parliament, having formed the Stacilo! (‘Enough!’) coalition with the United Democrats-Independents’ Association and the Czech National Social Party.
In other joint candidate lists:
- The SEN 21 movement has formed an election coalition with the euro-federalist Volt Cesko.
- The populist movement Prisaha has formed a coalition with a single-issue motorists’ rights party.
- Swiss Democracy, which argues for direct democracy in the form of referendums, has formed a coalition with the Party of the State of Direct Democracy-Labour Party.
- The Moravians and one of the non-parliamentary Republican parties are running under the “FOR leaving the EU” coalition.
- The “PRO Jindrich Rajchl” coalition is made up of Law Respect Expertise (PRO), an anti-system campaign group led by Jindrich Rajchl, a noted spreader of disinformation in the Czech Republic, and Right Choice for Health and Sport.
In addition to ex-PM Andrej Babis’s ANO, another ANO movement is also running in the elections, promising in its name “A better EU with aliens”, and also an end to price hikes and war.
Separately, Social Democracy (formerly CSSD, now SOCDEM) is seeking to return to the European Parliament, with former foreign minister Lubomir Zaoralek leading its candidate list.
Ex-PM Jiri Paroubek leads the candidates of the coalition of the CSSD-Czech Sovereignty Social Democracy.
The largest, six-member coalition, which includes the ultra-right Workers’ Party of Social Justice, National Democracy, and Rozumni, has emerged as the Alliance of National Forces, led by sitting SPD MEP Hynek Blasko.
