Decentralization and Electoral Processes: Political Fragmentation of the Regions in the Czech Republic

Decentralization has become one of the main institutional reforms for post-socialist countries, including the Czech Republic. Along with administrative and fiscal decentralization, the Czech Republic has successfully implemented political decentralization. On the eve of its accession to the European Union, the institutional autonomy of Regional Assemblies in the country has strengthened, with regions transforming into a self-governing tier of public administration. Since 2000, the Czech Republic has held regional elections, this fact leading to the fragmentation of regions. The most recent 2020 regional elections illustrated a unique situation, first of all, due to the election victory of the pro-governmental ANO 2011 party, and the further policy of forming power coalitions by center-right and liberals.