Municipal elections underway: independents dominate while major cities brace for close mayoral contests

Counting of votes in the 2026 Czech municipal elections has started, confirming that independents and local groups will obtain the largest share of council mandates across the country. About a third of municipalities featured only one list, making those outcomes predetermined. Major urban centers will see intense mayoral races: Prague’s incumbent Bohuslav Svoboda (ODS) is not standing, with ODS first deputy chairman Tomáš Portlík positioned as a leading candidate; Brno’s mayor Markéta Vaňková (ODS) also steps down, leaving a joint ODS-TOP 09 ticket to contend for the city’s top post; and in Ostrava, incumbent mayor Jan Dohnal (ODS) seeks re-election against a backdrop of a coalition that includes ANO, SPOLU and local parties.

One outlet Prague coalition of SPOLU, Pirates and STAN controls 36 of 65 seats, while Brno’s council is governed by a wide alliance of ODS, TOP 09, ANO, Lidovci and others. The elections also see reduced candidate numbers compared with four years ago, with fewer than 190,000 individuals running for roughly 6,400 municipal councils.