Two-fifths of Czechs are of the view that Russia may attempt to influence the autumn parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic, and roughly the same proportion expect similar efforts by the European Union, according to a June survey by the Central European Digital Media Observatory (CEDMO) released to CTK today.
Furthermore, 29% of Czech citizens expect the United States to interfere in the October elections, according to a survey conducted on a sample of 2,856 respondents from the Czech Republic.
Poles share similar attitudes about influence in their elections, while Slovaks have expressed the greatest concern about EU influence.
42% of Czech respondents expect attempts to influence the elections from Russia, while 41% expect it from the EU.
Respondents in Poland, polled a few days after the end of the second round of the country’s presidential election, expressed broadly similar stances as Czechs, the survey authors said. They were most likely to say that Russia would influence the election (47%), followed by the European Union (39%) and the United States (35%).
The attitudes of Slovak respondents differed quite significantly; Slovaks perceive the European Union as the most likely player to interfere in elections in their country (46%), followed by the United States (39%) and Russia (38%).
Compared to an earlier survey conducted by CEDMO ahead of the 2024 European Parliament elections, the current results are similar, especially in the case of Czech respondents.
The most notable change is the decrease in fears of Russian influence on the elections in Poland, as 63% of Poles surveyed last year expressed this concern. In Slovakia, on the other hand, the share of respondents who consider EU influence on their elections likely has increased slightly since then.
The elections to the Chamber of Deputies will take place in the Czech Republic on 3-4 October. In Poland and Slovakia, the next parliamentary elections are scheduled for the autumn of 2027.
