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← 2010
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24–25 May 2013
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2017 →
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| All 300 seats in the Chamber of Deputies 151 seats needed for a majority | ||||
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| First party | Second party | |||
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| Leader | Robert Fico | Miroslav Kalousek | ||
| Party | ČSD | RS | ||
| Last election | 68 seats | 69 seats | ||
| Seats won | 84 / 300 |
50 / 300 | ||
| Seat change | ▲ 16 | ▼ 13 | ||
| Popular vote | 2,850,448 | 1,716,376 | ||
| Percentage | 27.07% | 16.30% | ||
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The Chamber of Deputies of the Czechoslovak Federal Assembly in session.
Federal elections were held in Czechoslovakia on 24 and 25 May 2013. All 300 seats in the Federal Assembly were up for election, with MPs elected by party-list proportional representation.
The Social Democratic Party increased their support and won a total of 84 seats), while the far-left Communist Party and the far-right National Democracy won 23 and 19 seats respectively, both gaining 4 seats. The parties from the previous coalition government who were contesting the election, the Republican Party and the Free Democrats, both lost substantial numbers of seats, while the Czechoslovak People's Party and the Slovak People's Party lost 4 seats each.
Incumbent Prime Minister Miroslav Kalousek, conceded defeat on election day. In June, the centre-left Red-Green coalition of the Social Democrats, the National Social Party and the Green Party was formed, with Robert Fico becoming the prime minister.
Background[]
Following the 2010 federal election, Prime Minister Miroslav Kalousek continued in office, but his cabinet had lost much of its parliamentary basis and was dependent on including the Free Democrats - Liberal Party (SD-LS) into the government already comprising the Republican Party and the two christian democratic parties, the Czechoslovak People's Party (ČSL) and the Slovak People's Party (SĽS). The leader of the Free Democrats, Petr Fiala, had during the election campaign promised that he would not support any government which did not include the Free Democrats.
Kalousek's second cabinet was riddled with infighting between the Free Democrats and the ČSL/SĽS on economic and social issues, with the former to push the into a more economically liberal direction while the latter preferring a more centrist approach. The ruling grouping's factions have also locked horns over health reforms and nuclear energy.
When the government introducing a $1.85 fees for doctor visits and prescriptions in 2011, it sparked widespread public ire and protests from ČSL/SĽS, the Social Democrats and the Communists. The relations between the Free Democrats and the ČSL/SĽS deteriorated further in the autumn of 2012, when the government on 8 September approved a draft budget for 2013 which included both budget and tax cuts which pleased the SD-LS but sparked increased criticism among the Christian Democrats. When the draft budget proposal was be presented to the lower house by the following month it triggered heated debate. The center-left opposition parties expressed numerous reservations, accusing the government of cutting in social benefits to pay for tax reductions. When the 2013 budget passed the Chamber of Deputies on 10 December 2012, it did so barely with the slim majority of 152–148, with four members of the Czechoslovak People's Party voting against the government.
After the passing of the 2016 budget, the government came under increasing criticism from the opposition, blaming the government for economic mismanagement and criticized reforms including fees for doctor visits, budget cuts and the governments proposals for pension reform. On 24 March 2013 Kalousek's government lost a no-confidence vote. After two failed earlier attempts, the opposition Social Democrats succeeded in leading the lower house of the Czechoslovak federal parliament to a no confidence vote, passing with with 151 votes to 149, largely due to several members of Kalousek's coalition partners in the Czechoslovak People's Party and the Slovak People's Party voting with the opposition. Kalousek announced that he would resign and urged the president to call early elections, and president Karel Schwarzenberg called on 29 March a parliamentary election for 24–25 May 2013, in line with a political agreement betweeen Kalousek and the leader of the Social Democrats, Robert Fico.
Results[]
Chamber of Deputies[]
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parties | Leaders | Votes | % | Seats | ± | |
| Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party (Československá strana sociálně demokratická) (ČSSD) | Robert Fico | 2,850,448 | 27.07% | 84 | ▲ 16 | |
| Republican Party (Republikánská strana) (RS) | Miroslav Kalousek | 1,716,376 | 16.30% | 50 | ▼ 13 | |
| Czechoslovak People's Party (Československá strana lidová) (ČSL) | Cyril Svoboda | 1,163,555 | 11.05% | 34 | ▼ 4 | |
| Slovak People's Party (Slovenská ľudová strana) (SĽS) | Mikuláš Dzurinda | 1,006,660 | 9.56% | 29 | ▼ 4 | |
| Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (Svobodní demokraté – Liberální strana) (KSČ) | Vojtěch Filip | 800,273 | 7.6% | 23 | ▲ 4 | |
| Czechoslovak National Social Party (Československá strana národně sociální) (ČSNS) | Jiří Paroubek | 663,384 | 6.3% | 19 | ▬ 0 | |
| National Democracy (Národní demokracie) (ND) | Miroslav Sládek | 652,854 | 6,2% | 19 | ▲ 5 | |
| Free Democrats - Liberal Party (Svobodní demokraté – Liberální strana) (SD–LS) | Jan Zahradil | 579,145 | 5.50% | 17 | ▼ 5 | |
| Sudeten German People's Party (Sudetendeutsche Volkspartei) (SDVP) | Bernd Posselt | 349,593 | 3.32% | 10 | ▲ 1 | |
| Green Party (Strana zelených) (SZ) | Ondřej Liška | 336,957 | 3.20% | 9 | ▲ 1 | |
| Party of the Hungarian Community (Magyar Közösség Pártja–Strana maďarskej komunity) (MKP–SMK) | Béla Bugár | 221,128 | 2.10% | 6 | ▼ 1 | |
| Other parties | 84,239 | 0.80% | 0 | 0 | ||
| Blank votes | 42,119 | 0.40% | 0 | 0 | ||
| Invalid votes | 63,179 | 0.60% | 0 | 0 | ||
| Overall | ||||||
| Red-Green Alliance (ČSSD – ČSNS – SZ; supported by KSČ, SDVP and MKP–SMK) | Robert Fico | 5,221,783 | 49.59% | 151 | ||
| Centre-Right Alliance (RS – ČSL-SĽS – SD-LS) | Miroslav Kalousek | 4,465,736 | 42.41% | 149 | ||
| Total (Turnout: 82.15% – electorate: 12,816,678) | 10,529,918 | 100.0% | 300 | |||
| Turnout in the Czech Federative Republic – electorate: 8,424,227 | 7,081,405 | 84.06% | ||||
| Turnout in the Slovak Federative Republic – electorate: 4,392,451 | 3,448,513 | 78.51% | ||||
Chamber of Nations[]
| Parties | Seats | ± | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Czech Federal Republic | |||
| Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party (Československá strana sociálně demokratická) (ČSSD) | 39 | ||
| Republican Party (Republikánská strana) (RS) | 22 | ||
| Czechoslovak People's Party (Československá strana lidová) (ČSL) | 6 | ||
| Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (Svobodní demokraté – Liberální strana) (KSČ) | 3 | ||
| Czechoslovak National Social Party (Československá strana národně sociální) (ČSNS) | 1 | ||
| Independent candidates | 4 | ||
| Invalid votes | |||
| Total (Turnout: – electorate: 8,424,227) | 75 | ||
| Slovak Federal Republic | |||
| Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party (Československá strana sociálně demokratická) (ČSSD) | 43 | ||
| Republican Party (Republikánská strana) (RS) | 24 | ||
| Slovak People's Party (Slovenská ľudová strana) (SĽS) | 5 | ||
| Independent candidates | 3 | ||
| Invalid votes | |||
| Total (Turnout: – electorate: 4,392,451) | 75 | ||
| Overall | |||
| Total (Turnout: – electorate: 12,816,678) | 150 | ||
Aftermath and government formation[]
The result was seen as leading to a possible roll back of some austerity programmes initiated by the previous government amidst the European sovereign debt crisis.
The Social Democrats (ČSD) said they were open to talking to all parties about the formation of a government. the leader of the Czechoslovak People's Party (ČSL), Pavel Bělobrádek, said that he could conceive of supporting a Social Democrat-led government (either a coalition with the Social Democrats, or ČSL staying in opposition but agreeing to supporting a minority government led by the Social Democrats), but that this is not his priority and he opposes the Social Democrats' proposals for tax increases. He was backed by the leader of Slovak People's Party.
On 31 May, the Social Democrats began coalition talks with the Czechoslovak National Social Party and the Green Party. All of these parties agreed on abolition of past government social reforms and a law about property origin. In mid-June, leaders of ČSD, ČSNS, SZ announced that they had agreed on a coalition government. The coalition agreement was signed on 18 June 2014. Robert Fico's Cabinet was sworn in on 24 June 2013.
See also[]
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