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Mayors and Independents

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Mayors and Independents (Czech: Starostové a nezávislí, STAN) is a liberal[17] political party in the Czech Republic, focused on localism,[2] regionalism[18] and subsidiarity. It holds 20 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, and is the third strongest party by number of seats following the 2025 election. In the Senate, STAN is represented by 19 Senators.

Mayors and Independents
Starostové a nezávislí
AbbreviationSTAN
LeaderVít Rakušan
Deputy LeadersLukáš Vlček
Jan Farský
Michaela Šebelová
Pavel Čížek
Karel Dvořák
Chamber of Deputies LeaderMichaela Šebelová
Senate LeaderJan Sobotka
FounderPetr Gazdík
Founded2004; 22 years ago (2004)
NewspaperSTANoviny
Think tankInstitute of Modern Politics iSTAR
Youth wingYoung Mayors and Independents
Membership (2025)2092[1]
Ideology
Political positionCentre[10] to centre-right[15]
National affiliationPirates and Mayors
(2020–2021)
European Parliament groupEuropean People's Party Group
Colours  Pink
  Yellow
SloganStaráme se o lidi
('We take care of people')[16]
Chamber of Deputies
20 / 200
Senate
19 / 81
European Parliament
2 / 21
Regional councils
93 / 675
Regional governors
2 / 13
Local councils
3,073 / 62,300
Website
starostove-nezavisli.cz

The party grew out of four minor parties, including the Independent Mayors for the Region,[19] and the liberal-conservative SNK European Democrats. Until 2016, the party cooperated in national elections with another liberal-conservative party, TOP 09. STAN contested the 2021 Czech parliamentary election as part of the coalition Pirates and Mayors with the Czech Pirate Party.

History

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STAN grew out of the Independent Mayors for the Region (Nezávislí starostové pro kraj; NSK), founded in 2004. In 2009, led by its first leader Petr Gazdík and deputy leader Stanislav Polčák, STAN started co-operating with the liberal-conservative TOP 09 at all levels, with Gazdík leading the TOP 09 and STAN parliamentary group. In the 2010 local elections, the party won 1,243 councillors, making it the sixth-largest party on local councils.[20]

In 2013, the co-operation with TOP 09 ended at local and regional levels, and continued only in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. In the 2013 election to the Chamber of Deputies, STAN won five seats on the TOP 09 list: Jan Farský, Stanislav Polčák, Věra Kovářová [cs], František Vácha [cs] and acting leader Petr Gazdík.

In March 2014, Martin Půta [cs], governor of the Liberec Region, was unanimously elected leader of STAN, and Gazdík became the first deputy leader with Polčák as the second deputy.[21] Running a joint list for the 2014 European Parliament election, STAN and TOP 09 received 15.95% of the vote and won four seats,[22] one of which was taken by STAN's Stanislav Polčák. In 2016, Martin Půta was succeeded by Petr Gazdík, who led STAN into the regional and Senate elections. In the 2017 election to the Chamber of Deputies, STAN won six seats: Petr Gazdík, Jan Farský, Věra Kovářová [cs], Vít Rakušan, Martin Půta [cs] (who was replaced by Petr Pávek [cs]) and Jana Krutáková [cs].[23]

In 2019 Vít Rakušan was elected as leader.[24] In 2020 STAN won the Senate elections, taking 11 of the 27 seats contested. The party contested the 2021 Czech parliamentary election as part of the Pirates and Mayors coalition with the Czech Pirate Party. Thanks to preferential voting, STAN took most of the coalition's 37 seats, winning 33 and becoming the third strongest party in the Chamber of Deputies.[25]

Positions

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The party's main focus is the promotion of the principle of subsidiarity. STAN supports localism, decentralization, reduction of bureaucracy, and anti-corruption measures,[2] and its policy priorities include improving education and investing in science, supporting rural areas, and protecting nature.[26] STAN strongly supports the introduction of the euro in the Czech Republic and deeper European integration.[27] Some party members support the idea of a European federation, including former minister Martin Dvořák and the youth organization Young Mayors and Independents.[28][29] The party supports the introduction of same-sex marriage in the Czech Republic.[30]

Young Mayors and Independents

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Young Mayors and Independents logo

The party's youth wing, Young Mayors and Independents (Czech: Mladí starostové a nezávislí; mSTAN), was founded in 2015.[31] Its former leader Tomáš Pavelka was the youngest mayor in the Czech Republic in on his election in 2020.[32] mSTAN cooperated with Young Pirates in the campaign ahead of the 2021 Czech legislative election.[33] Zdena Kašparová has been the chair of mSTAN since 2024.[citation needed]

Election results

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Chamber of Deputies

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Election Leader Vote % Seats ± Position Status
2010 Petr Gazdík 873,833 16.71
5 / 200
 New Increase 6th Coalition
Ran on TOP 09 list, which won 41 seats in total
2013 Petr Gazdík 596,357 12.00
4 / 200
 Decrease 1 Decrease 8th Opposition
Ran on TOP 09 list, which won 26 seats in total
2017 Jan Farský 262,157 5.18
6 / 200
 Increase 2 Decrease 9th Opposition
2021 Vít Rakušan 839,448 15.61
33 / 200
 Increase 27 Increase 3rd Coalition
Part of the Pirates and Mayors coalition, which won 37 seats in total
2025 Vít Rakušan 631,512 11.23
22 / 200
 Decrease 11 Steady 3rd Opposition

Senate

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Election First round Second round Seats Total seats +/–
Votes % Place Votes % Place
2012 4,460 0.5 25th  
0 / 27
0 / 81
 New
2014 15,576 1.5 9th 11,099 2.3 9th
2 / 27
2 / 81
 Increase 2
2016 43,234 4.9 7th 25,389 6.0 6th
3 / 27
5 / 81
 Increase 3
2018 76,817 7.0 7th 47,317 11.3 3rd
5 / 27
11 / 81
 Increase 5
2020 122,948 12.3 2nd 104,538 23.1 1st
11 / 27
19 / 81
 Increase 7
2022 75,406 6.8 5th 6,410 1.3 13th
0 / 27
15 / 81
 Decrease 4
2024 87,734 11.1 3rd 53,498 13.7 3rd
5 / 27
15 / 81
 Steady

Presidential

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Indirect elections

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Election Candidate First round Second round Third round
Votes % Result Votes % Result Votes % Result
2008 Jan Švejnar 128 49.10 Runner-up 141 47.19 Runner-up 111 44.05 Lost

Direct elections

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Election Candidate First round Second round
Votes % Result Votes % Result
2013 Karel Schwarzenberg 1,204,195 23.40 Runner-up 2,241,171 45.20 Lost
2018 Jiří Drahoš 1,369,601 26.60 Runner-up 2,701,206 48.63 Lost

European Parliament

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Billboard in Prague
Election List leader Votes % Seats +/− EP Group
2009[a] Jaromír Štětina 53,984 2.29 (#8)
0 / 22
 New −
2014[b] Luděk Niedermayer 241,747 15.95 (#2)
1 / 21
 Increase 1 EPP
2019[c] Jiří Pospíšil 276,220 11.65 (#4)
1 / 21
 Steady
2024[d] Danuše Nerudová 258,431 8.70 (#5)
2 / 21
 Increase 1
  1. ↑ Run in a joint list with Your Option.
  2. ↑ Run in a joint list with TOP 09.
  3. ↑ Run in a joint list with TOP 09, SZ and LES.
  4. ↑ Run in a joint list with Mayors for Liberec Region.

Regional councils

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Leading the movement
Election Vote % Seats +/– Position
2004 Ran only in coalitions
1 / 675
 Increase 1 Increase 10th
2008 53,462 1.83
14 / 675
 Increase 13 Increase 5th
2012 28,763 1.09
38 / 675
 Increase 24 Steady 5th
2016 101,696 4.02
56 / 675
 Increase 18 Decrease 6th
2020 167,459 6.04
91 / 675
 Increase 35 Increase 4th
2024 326,632 13.71
93 / 675
 Increase 2 Increase 3rd

Prague City Assembly

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Election Leader Coalition Seats +/– Position Status
Parties Votes %
2014 Petr Štěpánek STAN–KDU-ČSL–Zelení 2,323,976 11.2
2 / 65
 Increase 2 Increase 8th Coalition
2018 Petr Hlaváček STAN–TOP 09–KDU-ČSL–LES–SKN ED 4,127,063 16.3
4 / 65
 Increase 2 Increase 6th Coalition
2022 N/a 1,831,696 7.8
5 / 65
 Increase 1 Increase 5th Coalition

Leaders

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Leader of the party Vít Rakušan

Footnotes

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  1. ↑ https://archiv.hn.cz/c1-67764480-politicka-pustina-stranam-se-stale-nedari-nalakat-nove-cleny-ti-puvodni-odchazeji-po-tisicich-proc-je-uspesna-jen-spd
  2. 1 2 3 Nordsieck, Wolfram (2017). "Czechia". Parties and Elections in Europe.
  3. ↑ "STAN zakládá vlastní think-tank!". i-star.cz (in Czech). 31 January 2019. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  4. ↑ "Babiš under fire after Commission audit published". Politico Europe. 25 April 2021.
  5. ↑ Zachová, Aneta (3 February 2021). "PM Babiš is slowly losing ground, opinion poll shows". Euractiv.
  6. ↑ [3][4][5]
  7. ↑ "Table-Czech billionaire's ANO party wins big in election". Reuters. 21 October 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  8. ↑ Škvrňák, Michael (11 November 2024). "No coalition is an island: how pre-electoral coalitions at the national-level shape local elections". Local government studies: 2. doi:10.1080/03003930.2024.2425751.
  9. ↑ "Czech Senate and regional elections 2020: Bitter victory for the Prime Minister, dominance of the opposition in the Senate". Heinrich Böll Stiftung. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
  10. ↑ [7][8][9]
  11. ↑ "Difficult Coalition Negotiations Following ANO Landslide". BMI Research. 23 October 2017. Archived from the original on 29 October 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  12. ↑ "Tschechische Regierung zerbricht unter Prager Korruptionsskandal". Euractiv (in German). 20 June 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  13. ↑ "Czechia". Europe Elects. 26 January 2025. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
  14. ↑ Rovny, Jan (11 October 2021). "Populism punished: The 2021 Czech parliamentary election". EUROPP. London School of Economics. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
  15. ↑ [11][12][13][14]
  16. ↑ "Staráme se o lidi, hlásí STAN s novým logem. Růžová má značit liberální směr". Mladá fronta Dnes (in Czech). Mafra. 20 January 2024. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  17. ↑ "Čím dál tím liberálnější. STAN se pod vedením šéfa Rakušana přesunuli a ukotvili na mapě české politiky". Czech Radio (in Czech). 14 August 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  18. ↑ Stephens, Jack (18 December 2021). "Who's Who In The New Czech Cabinet?". Brno Daily. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  19. ↑ Peters, Ingo; Bakke, Elisabeth (2011). 20 Years since the Fall of the Berlin Wall: Transitions, State Break-Up and Democratic Politics in Central Europe and Germany. p. 241. ISBN 9783830527022.
  20. ↑ "Volby Do Obecních zastupitelstev ČR 2010". Mladá fronta Dnes (in Czech). Mafra. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
  21. ↑ "Starosty povede Půta, dostal sto procent hlasů". Novinky.cz (in Czech). Borgis. 28 March 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  22. ↑ "Volby do Evropského parlamentu konané na území České republiky ve dnech 23.05. – 24.05.2014". Volby.cz. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  23. ↑ "Volby do Poslanecké sněmovny Parlamentu České republiky konané ve dnech 20.10. – 21.10.2017 (promítnuto usnesení NSS)". Volby.cz. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  24. ↑ "Rakušana zvolili předsedou STAN a dali mu stan". Novinky.cz (in Czech). 13 April 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  25. ↑ Bureš, Milan. "Oslabení a zklamaní". Týdeník Respekt. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  26. ↑ "Starostové". 2025.
  27. ↑ "SeznamZprávy". 2025.
  28. ↑ "Euractiv". 2023.
  29. ↑ "Instagram". 2025.
  30. ↑ "Starostové". 2025.
  31. ↑ "Starostové a nezávislí se otevírají mladým lidem. Do hnutí lze nově vstoupit již od 16 let". Náš region. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  32. ↑ "Od dětství mě zajímala politika, říká nejmladší starosta v Česku Pavelka". iROZHLAS (in Czech). 5 October 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  33. ↑ "Mladé Pirátstvo a Mladí Starostové spojili síly. Chtějí pomoci s programem pro mladé a kampaní". Studentské listy (in Czech). 4 June 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
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