| Country: | Czech Republic |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Previous Election: | 1992 Czech legislative election |
| Previous Year: | 1992 |
| Next Election: | 1998 Czech legislative election |
| Next Year: | 1998 |
| Majority Seats: | 101 |
| Election Date: | 31 May and 1 June 1996 |
| Image1: | Vaclav Klaus headshot.jpg |
| Leader1: | Václav Klaus |
| Party1: | Civic Democratic Party (Czech Republic) |
| Seats1: | 68 |
| Seat Change1: | 8 |
| Popular Vote1: | 1,794,560 |
| Percentage1: | 29.62% |
| Swing1: | 0.11pp |
| Leader2: | Miloš Zeman |
| Party2: | Czech Social Democratic Party |
| Seats2: | 61 |
| Seat Change2: | 45 |
| Popular Vote2: | 1,602,250 |
| Percentage2: | 26.44% |
| Swing2: | 19.91pp |
| Image3: | Miroslav_Grebeníček_(4).jpg |
| Leader3: | Miroslav Grebeníček |
| Party3: | Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia |
| Seats3: | 22 |
| Seat Change3: | 13 |
| Popular Vote3: | 626,136 |
| Percentage3: | 10.33% |
| Swing3: | 3.72pp |
| Image4: | Josef_Lux_01.jpg |
| Leader4: | Josef Lux |
| Party4: | KDU-ČSL |
| Seats4: | 18 |
| Seat Change4: | 3 |
| Popular Vote4: | 489,349 |
| Percentage4: | 8.08% |
| Swing4: | 1.80pp |
| Image5: | Miroslav_Sládek.jpg |
| Leader5: | Miroslav Sládek |
| Party5: | Rally for the Republic – Republican Party of Czechoslovakia |
| Seats5: | 18 |
| Seat Change5: | 4 |
| Popular Vote5: | 485,072 |
| Percentage5: | 8.01 |
| Swing5: | 2.03pp |
| Image6: | Jan Kalvoda 1993.jpg |
| Leader6: | Jan Kalvoda |
| Party6: | Civic Democratic Alliance |
| Seats6: | 13 |
| Seat Change6: | 1 |
| Popular Vote6: | 385,369 |
| Percentage6: | 6.36 |
| Swing6: | 0.43pp |
| Prime Minister | |
| Posttitle: | Prime Minister after election |
| Before Election: | Václav Klaus |
| Before Party: | Civic Democratic Party (Czech Republic) |
| After Election: | Václav Klaus |
| After Party: | Civic Democratic Party (Czech Republic) |
| Map: | 1996 Czech parliamentary election map.png |
Parliamentary elections were held in the Czech Republic on 31 May and 1 June 1996,[1] the first after independence. The Civic Democratic Party remained the largest party in the Chamber of Deputies, winning 68 of the 200 seats. Voter turnout was 76%.[2]
The campaign was primarily a conflict between the right-wing ODS and left-wing ČSSD. The ODS used slogans "Freedom and Prosperity" and "We proved that we can." ČSSD used slogan "Humanity against selfishness." ČSSD used an autobus called "Zemák" during its campaign. Party's leader Miloš Zeman campaigned with it at multiple places over the Czech Republic. ODS on the other hand used endorsements of public celebrities such as Lucie Bílá. Both parties used meetings with voters as their campaign instrument.[3]
| Party | Money spent (Kč) | |
|---|---|---|
| Civic Democratic Party | 127,000,000 | |
| Czech Social Democratic Party | 80,000,000 | |
| Christian and Democratic Union – Czechoslovak People's Party | 55,000,000 | |
| Civic Democratic Alliance | 40,000,000 | |
| Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia | 8,000,000 | |
| align=left colspan=2 | Source: České Noviny |
| Date | Polling firm | ODS | ČSSD | KSČM | ODA | DŽJ | DEU | LB | Others | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| < | --colour taken from the official ODS website.--> | < | --colour taken from the official ČSSD logo.--> | < | --colour taken from the official KSČM website.--> | < | --colour taken from the official KDU-ČSL logo.--> | |||||||
| 29.6 | 26.4 | 10.3 | 8.1 | 8.0 | 6.4 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 2.1 | 1.4 | 1.8 | ||||
| May 1996 | STEM[4] | 24.0 | 19.3 | 10.3 | 8.7 | 7.1 | 9.1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | |||
| 4–7 May 1996 | IVVM[5] | 21.8 | 17.7 | 7.3 | 7.1 | 5.8 | 5.8 | 2.8 | 2.3 | 1.9 | 3.3 | |||
| April | IVVM | 25.5 | 15.5 | 6.2 | 8.9 | 5.0 | 6.8 | 1.9 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 4.5 | |||
| March | IVVM | 25.5 | 15.3 | 6.0 | 6.7 | 4.7 | 8.1 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 4.2 | |||
| February | IVVM | 24.7 | 15.9 | 6.5 | 9.1 | 4.4 | 8.1 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 3.2 | 3.8 | |||
| January | IVVM | 27.2 | 17.3 | 7.1 | 6.7 | 4.7 | 6.6 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 2.0 | 4.7 |