View source for Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia

{{Redirect|KSČM|other uses|KSCM (disambiguation){{!}}KSCM}}
{{expand Czech|date=February 2024|topic=gov}}
{{use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox political party
| name             = Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia
| native_name      = Komunistická strana Čech a Moravy
| native_name_lang = cs
| abbreviation     = KSČM
| logo             = Logo KSČM.svg
| logo_size        = 150
| colorcode        = {{Political party data|color}}
| leader1_title    = Chairwoman
| leader1_name     = [[Kateřina Konečná]]
| leader2_title    = First Vice-Chairman
| leader2_name     = Petr Šimůnek
| leader3_title    = Deputy Leaders
| leader3_name     = Marie Pěnčíková<br/>Leo Luzar<br/>Milan Krajča
| foundation       = 31 March 1990
| predecessor      = [[Communist Party of Czechoslovakia]]
| headquarters     = Politických vězňů 9, [[Prague]]
| slogan           = "S lidmi pro lidi!"<br/>('With the people for the people!')
| newspaper        = ''[[Haló noviny]]''
| think_tank       = [[Institute of the Czech Left]]
| youth_wing       = [[Young Communists (Czech Republic)|Young Communists]]<br/>[[Communist Youth Union]]
| membership_year  = 2025
| membership       = {{steady}} 16,843
| ideology         = [[Communism]]{{refn|<ref name="com2024">{{cite journal |last1=Kim |first1=Seongcheol |title=Anti-Populism of the Left, Right, and Centre: Varieties of Anti-Populist Party Politics in the European 'Populist Moment' |journal=Politische Vierteljahresschrift |date=14 October 2024 |doi=10.1007/s11615-024-00574-7 |quote=The ODS repeatedly denounced the “populism” of 'the left' (encompassing the social-democratic CSSD and the communist KSCM alike) and its 'social demagoguery' of promising supposedly endless public spending (Kim 2022). |quote-page=13 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="pariah">{{cite book |first=Oliver |last=Kossack |title=Pariahs or Partners? Patterns of Government Formation with Radical Right Parties in Central and Eastern Europe, 1990–2020 |series=Edition Politik |year=2023 |volume=153 |doi=10.14361/9783839467152 |isbn=978-3-8394-6715-2 |publisher=[[:de:Transcript Verlag|Transcript Verlag]] |location=Bielefeld |page=70 |quote=Some of them, such as the Polish Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) or the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSzP), undertook credible reforms and transformed into socialist or social democratic parties, whereas the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSČM) in the Czech Republic maintained their orthodox Communist ideology after 1989. }}</ref><ref name="fila">{{cite thesis |url=https://idiprints.knjiznica.idi.hr/1210/1/2024%20Fila%20PhD.pdf |title=Perception of the European Union in the context of the migration crisis – a comparative study of the Czech Republic and Croatia |first=Filip |last=Fila |year=2024 |publisher=University of Zagreb |degree=Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |quote=KSČM – Radical left (Communism) |quote-page=62}}</ref><ref name="bednarek">{{cite journal |url=https://ies.lublin.pl/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/riesw_2020-3-04.pdf |trans-title=Little Moscow on the Vltava river – Russian communities in the Czech Republic in the context of socio-political order and homeland security |first=Wojciech |last=Bednarek |title=Mała Moskwa nad Wełtawą – rosyjska społeczność w Republice Czeskiej w kontekście ładu społeczno-politycznego i bezpieczeństwa narodowego |journal=Rocznik Instytutu Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej |volume=18 |issue=3 |doi=10.36874/RIESW.2020.3.4 |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs Republic of Poland |year=2020 |pages=73–92 |quote-page=82 |quote=Among representatives of the Czech parliament, those involved in pro-Russian and anti-EU and anti-NATO programs share the views of two anti-system groups – the anti-immigrant SPD and the communist KSČM. }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1= Gosling |first1= Tim |last2= Inotai |first2= Edit |last3= Szekeres |first3= Edward |last4= Ciobanu |first4= Claudia |date= 19 February 2021 |title= Democracy Digest: Lies, Damned Lies and COVID-19 Statistics |url= https://balkaninsight.com/2021/02/19/democracy-digest-lies-damned-lies-and-covid-19-statistics/ |work= Balkan Insight |publisher= Reporting Democracy |access-date= 2 August 2025}}</ref><ref name="gomez">{{cite thesis |url=https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10203602/1/del%20Tronco_10203602_Thesis.pdf |degree=Doctor of Philosophy |title=The normalisation of Islamophobia in Czechia through mainstream political discourse and its effects on post-2015 Czech public opinion regarding 'Muslims' |first=Carlos |last=Gómez del Tronco |year=2024 |publisher=University College London |page=117}}</ref>}}<br/>[[Anti-capitalism]]{{refn|<ref>{{cite thesis |title=Ex-Communist Party Choices and the Electoral Success of the Radical Right in Central and Eastern Europe |first=Maria |last=Snegovaya |publisher=Columbia University |year=2018 |id={{CORE output|161515337}} |degree=Doctor of Philosophy |page=129 |quote=Reflecting the party’s ideological rigidity, the KSČM platform consistently stressed some of the Marxist dogmas, for example, identifying capitalism as the main disease afflicting world’s population and offering to combine the Marxist collectivist goals with democratic objectives. }}</ref><ref name="palgrave">{{cite book |title=Palgrave Handbook on the 2024 European Parliament Elections |year=2025 |editor1=Juliet Lodge |editor2=Julie Smith |editor3=Stergios Fotopoulos |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |location=Cham |doi=10.1007/978-3-031-87397-3_12 |isbn=978-3-031-87397-3 |series=Political Science and International Studies |first1=Lukáš |last1=Macek |quote="On the far-left, KSCM’s Euroscepticism is mainly based on anti-capitalism, anti-German feelings, and pro-Russian attitudes." |page=172}}</ref>}}<br/>[[Euroscepticism]]{{refn|<ref name="palgrave"/><ref>{{cite book |chapter=The Czech Republic and Slovakia. Changing Perception of the European Integration since 1989 |first=Juraj |last=Marušiak |year=2021 |doi=10.5040/9781666994421.ch-6 |title=Meandering in Transition: Thirty Years of Reforms and Identity in Post-Communist Europe |editor1=Ostap Kushnir |editor2=Oleksandr Pankieiev |publisher=Bloomsbury USA Print |pages=115–116 |quote=As one may see, the Euroskeptic and pro-sovereign moods were much stronger in the Czech society and manifested themselves not only in criticism of some aspects of the EU’s functioning, but in the rejection of the very idea of membership. The latter rejection was mostly fostered by the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia, alongside selected representatives of ODS (e.g., party’s vice-chairman Ivan Langer). }}</ref><ref>{{cite thesis |url=https://idiprints.knjiznica.idi.hr/1210/1/2024%20Fila%20PhD.pdf |title=Perception of the European Union in the context of the migration crisis – a comparative study of the Czech Republic and Croatia |first=Filip |last=Fila |year=2024 |publisher=University of Zagreb |degree=Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |quote=What is notable is the addition of the highly Eurosceptic SPD to the competition; even if the communist KSČM party was known to tread the line between hard and soft Euroscepticism, the SPD is even more radical. |quote-page=80 }}</ref>}}<br/>[[Social conservatism]]<ref name="soc_con">{{bulleted list|{{cite journal |last1=Kim |first1=Seongcheol |first2=Endre |last2=Borbáth |title=A Typology of Postcommunist Successor Parties in Central and Eastern Europe and an Explanatory Framework for Their (Non-)Success |journal=East Central Europe |volume=49 |issue=2–3 |year=2022 |page=292 |doi=10.30965/18763308-49020007 |quote="The KSČM, on the other hand, occupied a socioeconomically left-wing and socioculturally conservative position and benefited electorally from a pronounced oppositional positioning in the wake of Social Democrat-led (ČSSD) governments in particular." |publisher=Brill Publishers}}|{{cite book |title=From Revolution to Uncertainty: The Year 1990 in Central and Eastern Europe |chapter=The party is over: the identities and biographies of Czechoslovak and East German (post) communists in the year 1990 |first=Stanislav |last=Holubec |year=2021 |editor1=Joachim von Puttkamer |editor2=Włodzimierz Borodziej |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-351-14032-4 |page=241 |quote="He served as party vice-chairman for many years and later as a member of the European Parliament; however, he remained isolated in a prevailingly nostalgic and socially conservative KSČM."}}|{{cite report |publisher=American Enterprise Institute |title=Populism in Europe and Its Russian Love Affair |first1=Dalibor |last1=Rohac |first2=Edit |last2=Zgut |first3=Lóránt |last3=Győri |year=2017 |url=http://www.jstor.com/stable/resrep03271 |page=13 |quote=Czech Communists even share with the Kremlin a substantial degree of social conservatism on issues including LGBT rights, in sharp contrast to other left-wing political groups.}}|{{cite book |title=The Palgrave Handbook of Radical Left Parties in Europe |editor1=Fabien Escalona |editor2=Daniel Keith |year=2023 |isbn=978-1-137-56264-7 |doi=10.1057/978-1-137-56264-7 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |chapter=The Eastern European Context |first=Luke |last=March |author-link=:es:Luke March |page=583 |quote="As previously noted, the Czech KSČM is widely considered the product of a ‘bureaucratic authoritarian communist’ regime. This implies that much of its relative strength is historically derived, as a product of its emergence from the powerful interwar workers’ movement. Indeed, as Chapter 21 by Handl in this volume argues, the party’s residual societal strength long underpinned its social conservatism, and this continued into the post-communist era when the KSČM remained a mass membership party.}}|{{cite journal |title=The "refugee crisis" and the transformation of the far right and the political mainstream: the extreme case of the Czech Republic |first=Jakub |last=Wondreys |year=2020 |doi=10.1080/21599165.2020.1856088 |journal=East European Politics |volume=37 |issue=4 |pages=722–746 |publisher=Taylor & Francis Group |quote-page=11 |quote=That said, the KSČM has long combined far left socio-economic policies with quite conservative socio-cultural positions, so this is not necessarily out of line with party history.}}|{{cite journal |url=https://library.fes.de/pdf-files/id-moe/13079-20170119.pdf |title=Czech Republic: From Post-Communist Idealism to Economic Populism |year=2017 |first=Ondřej |last=Císař |author-link=:cs:Ondřej Císař |journal=International Policy Analysis |publisher=Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung |quote=The most stable among them is the direct heir to the pre-1989 ruling party, the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSČM), usually classified as an example of »social populism«. The party remains nominally on the left due to its economic program, but it is clearly very authoritarian and conservative in its sociocultural orientation, mirroring the values of predominantly older generations longing for the lost times of real socialism before 1989. |quote-page=8}}}}</ref>
| position         = [[Left-wing politics|Left-wing]] to [[Far-left politics|far-left]]{{cref|A}}
| national         = [[Communist Party of Czechoslovakia]]<br/>(1990–1992)<br/>[[Left Bloc (Czechoslovakia)|Left Bloc]] (1992–1994)<br/>[[Stačilo!]] (since 2023)
| european         = [[Party of the European Left]] (observer)
| europarl         = [[The Left in the European Parliament|The Left]] (2004–2024)<br/>[[Non-Inscrits]] (since 2024)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kscm.cz/cs/aktualne/aktuality/stacilo-a-frakce-aneb-program-za-koryta-nevymenime/|title=STAČILO! a frakce aneb program za koryta nevyměníme!|work=KSČM|date=9 July 2024|accessdate=9 July 2024}}</ref>
| international    = [[International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties|IMCWP]]<br/>World Anti-Imperialist Platform<ref>{{cite web|url=https://wap21.org/?p=3563|title=Milan Krajča, Vice-President of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia(Czech Republic)|work=World Anti-Imperialist Platform|date=17 May 2023|accessdate=2 December 2023}}</ref> (disputed)
| colours          = {{colour box|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}} [[Red (politics)|Red]]
| flag             = Flag of KSČM.svg
| seats1_title     = [[Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic|Chamber of Deputies]]
| seats1           = {{Political party data|seat composition bar|ms-lower-house}}
| seats2_title     = [[Senate of the Czech Republic|Senate]]
| seats2           = {{Political party data|seat composition bar|ms-upper-house}}
| seats3_title     = [[European Parliament]]
| seats3           = {{Political party data|seat composition bar|EP}}
| seats4_title     = Regional councils
| seats4           = {{composition bar|32|675|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
| seats5_title     = Local councils
| seats5           = {{composition bar|466|62300|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
| website          = {{Political party data|website}}
| country          = the Czech Republic
| footnotes        = {{cnote|A|The party is also described as [[Left-conservatism|left-conservative]],<ref name="leftcon"/> given its more [[Cultural conservatism|conservative stances]] on sociocultural issues.{{refn|<ref name="thomeczek"/><ref name="wondreys"/><ref name="cisar"/><ref name="green_journal"/>}}}}
}}
{{communist parties}}
{{politics of the Czech Republic}}
The '''Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia''' ({{langx|cs|Komunistická strana Čech a Moravy}}, '''KSČM''') is a [[communist party]]{{refn|<ref name="com2024"/><ref name="pariah"/><ref name="fila"/><ref name="bednarek"/><ref name="gomez"/>}} in the [[Czech Republic]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Nordsieck|first=Wolfram|date=October 2021|url=http://www.parties-and-elections.eu/czechia.html|title=Czechia|website=Parties and Elections in Europe|accessdate=31 October 2021}}</ref> As of January 2025, KSČM had a membership of 16 843.<ref>{{Cite web |title=KSČM o nás |trans-title=KSČM about us |url=https://www.kscm.cz/o-nas/ |access-date=2025-10-25 |website=KSČM |language=cs}}</ref> Sources variously describe the party as either [[Left-wing politics|left-wing]]{{refn|<ref name="radiop">{{cite news |last1=Bate |first1=Danny |title=Social Democrats ally with Stačilo! for autumn elections, dividing opinion among Czech left |url=https://english.radio.cz/social-democrats-ally-stacilo-autumn-elections-dividing-opinion-among-czech-left-8857634 |access-date=19 August 2025 |work=Radio Prague International |date=22 July 2025 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="hutt">{{cite news |last1=Hutt |first1=David |title=Czech left-wing parties are at rock bottom. Can they make a comeback? |url=https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2022/01/20/czech-left-wing-parties-are-at-rock-bottom-can-they-make-a-comeback |access-date=19 August 2025 |work=euronews |date=20 January 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="visegrad">{{cite web|last=Seelinger|first=Lani|title=Why the Czech Communists are here to stay|url=http://visegradrevue.eu/why-the-czech-communists-are-here-to-stay/|website=visegradrevue.eu|access-date=12 August 2019|date=11 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190812203128/http://visegradrevue.eu/why-the-czech-communists-are-here-to-stay/|archive-date=12 August 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="pink">{{cite journal | last1=Pink | first1=Michal |title=The Electoral Base of Left-Wing Post-Communist Political Parties in the Former Czechoslovakia |url=https://journals.muni.cz/cepsr/article/view/4580/6142 |journal=Central European Political Studies Review | date=August 2012 | volume=14 | issue=2–3 | pages=170–192 |access-date=12 August 2019}}.</ref>}} to [[Far-left politics|far-left]]{{refn|<ref name="palgrave"/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kaniok |first1=Petr |first2=Vít |last2=Hloušek |year=2023 |title=Czech Political Parties and the War in Ukraine: Continuity of Foreign Policy Stances |journal=East European Politics |volume=40 |issue=3 |doi=10.1080/21599165.2023.2295888 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21599165.2023.2295888 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |page=8 |quote="Prior to the elections, the opposition consisted of two newly formed coalitions – Spolu(Together), containing the three centre-right or centre-conservative parties KDU-ČSL, ODSand TOP 09, and the two-party bloc of the Pirates and Mayors and Independents (STAN) –and two established anti-system parties – the far-right SPD and far-left KSČM."}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Drulák |first1=Petr |first2=Hana N. |last2=Hlaváčková |first3=Jiří |last3=Zákravský |first4=Martina |last4=Ponížilová |year=2024 |title=Roles and Ideologies in Foreign Policy: The Czech Positions on the EU Migration Crisis |journal=Journal of Contemporary European Studies |volume=32 |issue=4 |doi=10.1080/14782804.2024.2348160 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14782804.2024.2348160 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |page=7 |quote="The far-left KSČM rejected the foreign policy direction favoured by other relevant political parties."|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite book |title=Candidate Characteristics, Party Positions and Voter Heuristics: Analyzing the Political Supply- and Demand-side of Politics |first=Michael |last=Jankowski |editor1=Markus Tepe |editor2=Torsten J. Selck |publisher=Carl von Ossietzky Universität |location=Oldenburg |year=2017 |page=166 |quote="In the lower section of the graphic we find the left-of-the-center CSSD and the far-left KSCM." |url=https://oops.uni-oldenburg.de/2970/1/jancan17.pdf}}</ref><ref name="Courrier d'Europe centrale">{{cite web |last1=Kapsas |first1=André |title=Andrej Babiš et les sociaux-démocrates tchèques négocient leur alliance |url=https://courrierdeuropecentrale.fr/andrej-babis-et-sociaux-democrates-tcheques-negocient-alliance/ |work=Courrier d'Europe centrale |date=6 April 2018 |access-date=12 August 2019|language=fr}}</ref><ref name="reuters.com">{{cite web|last1=Lopatka |first1=Jan |title=New dawn or swan song? Czech communists eye slice of power after decades|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-czech-politics-communists/new-dawn-or-swan-song-czech-communists-eye-slice-of-power-after-decades-idUSKBN1I11GY|website=Reuters|access-date=12 August 2019|date=30 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The New Party Challenge Changing Cycles of Party Birth and Death in Central Europe and Beyond |first1=Tim |last1=Haughton |first2=Kevin |last2=Deegan-Krause |publisher=Oxford University Press |chapter=Maps and Measures: Assessing Changes in the Composition of Central European Party Systems |doi=10.1093/oso/9780198812920.003.000 |year=2020 |isbn=978-0-19-881292-0 |page=29 |quote="Although some parties came and went, particularly in the liberal centre, the party political scene was dominated by a left–right battle between the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) and the Social Democrats (ČSSD), with the Christian People’s Party (KDU-ČSL) floating between them and the hard-line Communist Party (KSČM) remaining a pariah on the far left (Figure 3.5)."}}</ref>}} on the [[political spectrum]].{{refn|<ref name="palgrave"/><ref name="auto"/><ref name="Courrier d'Europe centrale"/><ref name="reuters.com"/>}} It is one of the few former [[ruling parties]] in [[post-Communist]] Central Eastern Europe to have not dropped the ''Communist'' title from its name, although it has changed its party program to adhere to laws adopted after 1989.{{sfn|Bozóki|Ishiyama|2002|p=146}}<ref name="pdmss">{{cite web|url=http://praguemonitor.com/2013/10/25/elections-whats-menu|title=Elections: What's on the menu|publisher=[[Prague Daily Monitor]]|date=25 October 2013|access-date=25 October 2013|archive-date=8 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808041209/http://praguemonitor.com/2013/10/25/elections-whats-menu|url-status=dead}}</ref> It was previously a member party of [[The Left in the European Parliament|The Left]] group in the [[European Parliament]],<ref name="guengl">{{cite web|title=European United Left & Nordic Green Left European Parliamentary Group delegations|url=http://www.guengl.eu/group/delegations|website=Guengl.eu|access-date=20 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130127184610/http://www.guengl.eu/group/delegations|archive-date=27 January 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> and an observer member of the [[European Left Party]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia|url=http://www.european-left.org/about-el/member-parties/communist-party-bohemia-and-moravia|website=european-left.org|access-date=20 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820073755/http://www.european-left.org/about-el/member-parties/communist-party-bohemia-and-moravia|archive-date=20 August 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> but is now unaffiliated.

For most of the first two decades after the [[Velvet Revolution]], the party was politically isolated and accused of extremism, but later moved closer to the [[Czech Social Democratic Party]] (ČSSD).<ref name="pdmss"/> After the [[2012 Czech regional elections]], KSČM began governing in coalition with the ČSSD in 10 regions.<ref name="praguemonitor">{{Cite web |url=http://praguemonitor.com/2012/12/03/%C4%8Dssd-rule-along-communists-10-13-czech-regions |title=ČSSD to rule along with Communists in 10 of 13 Czech regions|website=Prague Monitor<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=1 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130415051735/http://praguemonitor.com/2012/12/03/%C4%8Dssd-rule-along-communists-10-13-czech-regions |archive-date=15 April 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> It has never been part of a governing coalition in the executive branch but provided parliamentary support to [[Andrej Babiš' Second Cabinet]] until April 2021. The party's youth organization was banned from 2006 to 2010,<ref name="pdmss" /><ref name="YouthFarLeft">{{cite web|title=Communists denounce ban on far-left youth movement|url=http://www.radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/communists-denounce-ban-on-far-left-youth-movement|website=Radio Praha|date=19 October 2006|access-date=21 December 2017}}</ref> and there have been calls from other parties to outlaw the main party.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/23/world/europe/23iht-czech.html|title=Czech Activists Seek to Outlaw Communist Party|date=23 December 2009|work=The New York Times|access-date=25 May 2016}}</ref> Until 2013, it was the only [[political party in the Czech Republic]] printing its own newspaper, called ''[[Haló noviny]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.halonoviny.cz/|title=Halonoviny.cz – české levicové zprávy|access-date=25 May 2016|archive-date=16 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121116104854/http://www.halonoviny.cz/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The party's two cherry logo comes from the song ''[[Le Temps des cerises]]'', a [[revolutionary song]] associated with the [[Paris Commune]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kscm.cz/cs/nase-strana/kdo-jsme|title=Kdo jsme|website=Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia|access-date=27 October 2019|archive-date=14 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114205843/https://www.kscm.cz/cs/nase-strana/kdo-jsme|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== History ==
The party was formed in 1989 by a congress of the [[Communist Party of Czechoslovakia]] (KSČ), which decided to create a party for the territories of [[Bohemia]] and [[Moravia]] (including [[Czech Silesia]]), the areas that were to become the Czech Republic. The new party's organization was significantly more democratic and decentralized than the previous party, and gave local district branches of the party significant autonomy.{{sfn|Bozóki|Ishiyama|2002|p=147}}

In 1990, KSČ was reorganized as a federation of KSČM and the [[Communist Party of Slovakia (1939)|Communist Party of Slovakia]] (KSS). Later, KSS changed its name to the [[Party of the Democratic Left (Slovakia)|Party of the Democratic Left]], and the federation dissolved in 1992. During the party's first congress, held in [[Olomouc]] in October 1990, party leader [[Jiří Svoboda (politician)|Jiří Svoboda]] attempted to reform the party into a [[democratic socialist]] one, proposing a democratic socialist program and changing the name to the transitional Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia: Party of Democratic Socialism.{{sfn|Bozóki|Ishiyama|2002|pp=145–146}} Svoboda had to balance the criticisms of older, conservative communists, who made up a majority of the party's members, with the demands of an increasingly large and moderate bloc of members, led primarily by a group of young KSČM parliamentarians called the [[Party of the Democratic Left (Czech Republic)|Democratic Left]], who demanded the immediate social democratization of the party. Delegates approved the new program but rejected the name change.{{sfn|Bozóki|Ishiyama|2002|p=146}}

During 1991 and 1992, factional tensions increased, with the party's conservative, [[anti-revisionist]] wing increasingly vocal in criticizing Svoboda. There was an increase in popularity of the anti-revisionist [[Marxist–Leninist]] clubs amongst rank-and-file party members. On the party's other wing, the Democratic Left became increasingly critical of the slow pace of the reforms and began demanding a referendum of members to change the name. In December 1991, the Democratic Left split off and formed the short-lived [[Party of Democratic Labour]]. The referendum on changing the name was held in 1992, with 75.94% voting not to change the name.{{sfn|Bozóki|Ishiyama|2002|p=146}}

The party's second congress, held in [[Kladno]] in December 1992, showed the increasing popularity of the party's [[anti-revisionist]] wing. It passed resolutions reinterpreting the 1990 program as a "starting point" for KSČM, rather than a definitive statement of a post-communist program. Svoboda, who was hospitalized due to an attack by an [[anti-communist]], could not attend the congress but was nevertheless overwhelmingly re-elected.{{sfn|Bozóki|Ishiyama|2002|p=146}} After the party's second congress in 1992, several groups split away. A group of post-communist delegates split off and merged with the Party of Democratic Labour to form the [[Party of the Democratic Left (Czech Republic)|Party of the Democratic Left]] (SDL). Several independent left-wing members who had participated with KSČM in the 1992 electoral pact, which was called the [[Left Bloc (Czech Republic)|Left Bloc]], left the party to form the [[Left Bloc Party]].{{sfn|Bozóki|Ishiyama|2002|p=147}} Both groups eventually merged into the [[Party of Democratic Socialism (Czech Republic)|Party of Democratic Socialism]].{{sfn|Bozóki|Ishiyama|2002|p=157}}

In 1993, Svoboda attempted to expel the members of the "For Socialism" platform, a group in the party that wanted a restoration of the pre-1989 [[Communist regime]];{{sfn|Bozóki|Ishiyama|2002|pp=146–147}} however, with only the lukewarm support of KSČM's [[central committee]], he briefly resigned. He withdrew his resignation after the central committee agreed to move the party's next congress forward to June 1993 to resolve the issues of its name and ideology.{{sfn|Bozóki|Ishiyama|2002|p=147}} At the 1993 congress, held in [[Prostějov]], Svoboda's proposals were overwhelmingly rejected by two-thirds majorities. Svoboda did not seek re-election as chairman, and [[neocommunist]] [[Miroslav Grebeníček]] was elected chairman. Grebeníček and his supporters were critical of what they termed the inadequacies of the pre-1989 regime but supported the retention of the party's communist character and program. The members of the "For Socialism" platform were expelled at the congress, with the existence of platforms in the party being banned altogether, on the grounds that they gave too much influence to minority groups. Svoboda left the party.{{sfn|Bozóki|Ishiyama|2002|p=147}}

"Conservative elements within the KSČM" were described as dominating the party's May 2004 Congress.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hough |first1=Dan |last2=Handl |first2=Vladimír |title=The post-communist left and the European Union: The Czech Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSČM) and the German Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) |journal=Communist and Post-Communist Studies |date=September 2004 |volume=37 |issue=3 |pages=319–339 |doi=10.1016/j.postcomstud.2004.06.002 }}</ref>

The expelled members of "For Socialism" formed the Party of Czechoslovak Communists, later renamed the [[Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (post 1992)|Communist Party of Czechoslovakia]], which was led by [[Miroslav Štěpán]].{{sfn|Bozóki|Ishiyama|2002|p=157}} KSČM refuses to work with this group. The party was left on the sidelines for most of the first decade of the Czech Republic's existence. [[Václav Havel]] suspected KSČM was still an unreconstructed [[neo-Stalinist]] party and prevented it from having any influence during his presidency; however, the party provided the one-vote margin that elected Havel's successor [[Václav Klaus]] as president.<ref>{{cite book |title=The World Today Series: Nordic, Central and Southeastern Europe 2008|last=Thompson |first=Wayne C. |year=2008 |publisher=Stryker-Post Publications |location=Harpers Ferry, West Virginia |isbn=978-1-887985-95-6}}</ref> After a long-running battle with the Ministry of the Interior, the Communist Youth Union led by [[Milan Krajča]], was dissolved in 2006 for allegedly endorsing in its program the replacement of private with collective ownership of the means of production.<ref name="YouthFarLeft"/> The decision met with international protests.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cpa.org.au/z-archive/g2006/1296czech.html|title=Czech Communist Youth Union outlawed|date=25 October 2006|website=The Guardian|publisher=Communist Party of Australia|access-date=19 December 2017}}</ref>

In November 2008, the [[Czech Senate]] asked the [[Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech Republic|Supreme Administrative Court]] to dissolve KSČM because of its political program, which the Senate argued contradicted the [[Constitution of the Czech Republic]]. 30 out of the 38 senators who were present agreed to this request, and expressed the view that the party's program did not reject violence as a means of attaining power and adopted ''[[The Communist Manifesto]]'' of [[Karl Marx]].<ref>{{Cite web| url = https://www.idnes.cz/zpravy/domaci/komuniste-ve-svete-nas-nedaji-rika-o-hrozbe-rozpusteni-sef-kscm.A081101_164422_domaci_abr| publisher=iDnes, the online portal of [[Mladá fronta DNES]]| title = Komunisté ve světě nás nedají, říká o hrozbě rozpuštění šéf KSČM| agency=[[Czech News Agency]]| date=November 2008| access-date = 8 November 2008}}</ref> However, this was only a symbolic gesture, as according to the constitution only the cabinet may file a petition to the Supreme Administrative Court to dissolve a political party. For the first two decades after the end of [[History of Czechoslovakia (1948–1989)|communist rule in Czechoslovakia]], the party was politically isolated. After the [[2012 Czech regional elections]], it started participating in coalitions with the [[Czech Social Democratic Party]], forming part of the ruling coalition in 10 out of 13 regions.<ref name="praguemonitor" /> From 2018 to 2021, KSČM provided parliamentary support to [[Second cabinet of Andrej Babiš|Andrej Babiš' second cabinet]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://zpravy.idnes.cz/referendum-cssd-vlada-ano-andrej-babis-vysledek-frq-/domaci.aspx?c=A180614_205409_domaci_evam|title=ČSSD v referendu schválila vládu s ANO. Babiš však ještě nemá vyhráno|date=2018-06-15|website=iDNES.cz|access-date=2018-06-24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://zpravy.idnes.cz/babis-jmenovani-premier-hrad-prezident-zeman-fnm-/domaci.aspx?c=A180605_224752_domaci_kop|title=Babiš je podruhé premiérem. Hájil, že vláda bude opřená o komunisty|date=2018-06-06|website=iDNES.cz|access-date=2018-06-24}}</ref>

After the party's poor performance in the [[2021 Czech legislative election]], in which KSČM failed to reach the 5% voting threshold and was excluded from representation in parliament for the first time in its history, Filip resigned as leader of the party.<ref>{{cite web|date=2021-10-09|title=Vedení KSČM rezignovalo. Vstanou noví bojovníci, vzkázal Filip|url=https://www.idnes.cz/volby/vojtech-filip-kscm-rezignace.A211009_192107_volby_rapc|access-date=2021-10-09|website=iDNES.cz|language=cs}}</ref> On 23 October 2021, Member of European Parliament [[Kateřina Konečná]] was elected as leader.<ref>{{cite web|date=2021-10-23|title=Novou šéfkou KSČM se stala Konečná. Vyhrála s velkou převahou|url=https://www.novinky.cz/domaci/clanek/novou-sefkou-kscm-se-stala-konecna-vyhrala-s-velkou-prevahou-40375838|access-date=2021-10-23|website=Novinky.cz|language=cs}}</ref>

In 2025, the Czech government passed an amendment to the national criminal code that introduces up to five years of prison for anyone who "establishes, supports or promotes Nazi, communist, or other movements which demonstrably aim to suppress human rights and freedoms or incite racial, ethnic, national, religious or class-based hatred". KSČM condemned the law, describing it as an attempt "to push KSČM outside the law and intimidate critics of the current regime".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/czech-president-signs-law-criminalising-communist-propaganda/ |title=Czech president signs law criminalising communist propaganda |date=18 July 2025 |website=Euractiv |first=Aneta |last=Zachová}}</ref> The amendment will come to force in 2026; it is not clear how the amendment will affect the party – in an interview with [[Novinky.cz|Novinky]], constitutional lawyer Jan Kysela argued that while KSČM's existence might not be in danger, the law could result in legal actions against its members.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://praguemorning.cz/czechia-criminalizes-communist-promotion/ |title=Czechia Criminalizes Promotion of Communism from 2026 |date=27 July 2025 |website=Prague Morning}}</ref>

== Ideology ==
[[File:Two-dimensional_political_spectrum_of_the_Czech_Republic.png|upright 1.4|thumb|right|Political alignment of Czech political parties on a two-dimensional spectrum. In the TAN/GAL (sociocultural) dimension, KSČM is shown as more TAN (socially conservative) than [[KDU-ČSL]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kim |first1=Seongcheol |first2=Endre |last2=Borbáth |title=A Typology of Postcommunist Successor Parties in Central and Eastern Europe and an Explanatory Framework for Their (Non-)Success |journal=East Central Europe |volume=49 |issue=2–3 |year=2022 |page=292 |doi=10.30965/18763308-49020007 |quote="The KSČM, on the other hand, occupied a socioeconomically left-wing and socioculturally conservative position and benefited electorally from a pronounced oppositional positioning in the wake of Social Democrat-led (ČSSD) governments in particular." |publisher=Brill Publishers}}</ref>]]
As a [[communist party]] and the successor of the former ruling [[Communist Party of Czechoslovakia]],{{sfn|Bozóki|Ishiyama|2002|pp=150–153}} its party platform promotes [[anti-capitalism]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.idnes.cz/zpravy/domaci/rozstrel-katerina-konecna-eurovolby-kscm-evropska-unie.A190416_150838_domaci_lesa |title=Musíme vést třídní boj a zničit kapitalismus, řekla v Rozstřelu Konečná z KSČM |website=Idnes.cz|date=24 April 2019 |access-date=6 July 2021}}</ref> and [[socialism]].<ref>{{cite book |title=What's Left of the Left: Democrats and Social Democrats in Challenging Times |isbn=978-0-8223-5079-8 |quote=In a subsequent document the KSČM publicly rejected the practices of former regimes but also put strong emphasis on its aim to create a modern socialist society, which will guarantee real and lasting freedom and equality, regardless of property and social status. |page=303 |author1=James Cronin |author2=George Ross |author3=James Shoch |publisher=Duke University Press |location=Durham and London |year=2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=March |first1=Luke |author-link=:es:Luke March |date=2011 |isbn=978-0-203-15487-8 |title=Radical Left Parties in Europe |chapter=The fall and (partial) rise of the Eastern European communists |page=78 |publisher=Routledge |quote=Moreover, the KSCM’s documents show a commitment to a participative and pluralistic socialism. }}</ref> Unlike other communist parties in post-communist Europe, KSČM "refused to break away with its communist past and largely preserved its Marxist agenda".<ref>{{cite book |title=When Left Moves Right: The Decline of the Left and the Rise of the Populist Right in Postcommunist Europe |first=Maria |last=Snegovaya |year=2024 |isbn=978-0-19-769902-7 |doi=10.1093/oso/9780197699027.001.0001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |quote=I define parties as the traditional left if they constituted the part of the unreformed communist party that refused to break away with its communist past and largely preserved its Marxist agenda. Among the countries studied, only one electorally successful party represents such a clear-cut case: the Czech Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (Komunisticka strana Čech a Moravy, KSČM), the successor to the Czechoslovak Communist Party in the Czech Republic. |quote-page=13}}</ref> The party is also described as [[national communism|national communist]].<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/177311/1/ZORA177311.pdf |title=Assessing the diversity of anti-establishment and populist politics in Central and Eastern Europe |year=2019 |last1=Engler |first1=Sarah |last2=Pytlas |first2=Bartek |last3=Deegan-Krause |first3=Kevin |volume=42 |issue=6 |doi=10.1080/01402382.2019.1596696 |journal=West European Politics |publisher=Zurich Open Repository and Archive, University of Zurich |pages=10–11 |quote=Parties with this ideological profile occupy a wide range on the unidimensional left–right spectrum in Figure 2, including the social-conservative right such as Poland’s Law and Justice (PiS), the Hungarian Fidesz (Vachudova 2008; Pytlas 2015), nationalist communists (such as the Bulgarian BSP or the Czech KSČM), and even 11 mainstream left parties such as Direction (Smer) in Slovakia or Romania’s Social Democratic Party (PSD) (cf. Pop-Eleches 2008; Pytlas 2013). }}</ref> It is classified as a radical left party.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Guasti |first1=Petra |last2=Michal |first2=Aleš |title=Polarization and Democracy in Central Europe |journal=Politics and Governance |date=18 June 2025 |volume=13 |article-number=9560 |doi=10.17645/pag.9560 |doi-access=free |quote-page=9 |quote=In the Czech political landscape, these parties are regarded as moderate, while SPD (Freedom and Direct Democracy) is classified as radical right and KSČM (Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia) as radical left. }}</ref> It holds [[Eurosceptic]] views in regards to the [[European Union]],{{refn|<ref>{{cite web|title=How Europe will break on Brexit|url=http://www.politico.eu/article/how-europe-will-break-on-brexit-brexit-map/|website=Politico.eu|access-date=6 September 2016|date=22 June 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=O Brexitu neboli proč by EU měla jít|url=https://www.kscm.cz/cs/aktualne/aktuality/o-brexitu-neboli-proc-eu-mela-jit|website=KSČM|access-date=4 July 2017|date=19 July 2016|archive-date=10 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171110004950/https://www.kscm.cz/cs/aktualne/aktuality/o-brexitu-neboli-proc-eu-mela-jit|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Krachující Evropská unie a Česká republika|url=https://www.kscm.cz/cs/aktualne/fakta-argumenty/krachujici-evropska-unie-ceska-republika|website=KSČM|access-date=5 July 2017|date=9 September 2016|archive-date=10 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171110004937/https://www.kscm.cz/cs/aktualne/fakta-argumenty/krachujici-evropska-unie-ceska-republika|url-status=dead}}</ref>}} and has been described as pro-Russian,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ivaldi |first1=Gilles |last2=Zankina |first2=Emilia |title=The impact of the Russia–Ukraine War on right-wing populism in Europe |date=2023 |doi=10.55271/rp0010 |url=https://shs.hal.science/halshs-04024156 |quote-page=94 |quote=After 2015, the SPD was among the few pro-Russian or pro-Putin political parties in the Czech parliament (alongside the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia, which is no longer in the parliament). }}</ref> pro-Chinese,<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://ine.org.pl/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/The-Peoples-Republic-of-China-Political-perceptions-in-Central-Europe-2.pdf |title=The People's Republic of China: Political perceptions in Central Europe |year=2023 |first=Patrick |last=Triglavcan |publisher=Council on Geostrategy |journal=Geopolitics Programme |quote-page=52 |quote=Members of ČSSD and ANO displayed more positive views regarding the PRC and embraced it pragmatically, while KSČM consistently projected a pro-Chinese position throughout the electoral cycles mentioned. }}</ref> left-authoritarian in that it "combines cultural conservativism with an economic left-wing stance",<ref name="thomeczek">{{cite journal |title=Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW): Left-Wing Authoritarian—and Populist? An Empirical Analysis |first=Jan Philipp |last=Thomeczek |year=2024 |journal=Politische Vierteljahresschrift |volume=65 |issue=1 |pages=535–552 |publisher=Springer |doi=10.1007/s11615-024-00544-z |quote=Her public statements and books indicate that she appeals to the “left-wing authoritarians” (Lefkofridi et al. 2014), namely voters who hold economically left positions but are culturally conservative. [...] According to the Chapel Hill Expert Survey (Bakker et al. 2019), there are several parties with a similar left-authoritarian profile in Europe. Examples are the Social Democratic Party in Romania (PSD), the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), and far-left parties such as the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSCM). |hdl=10419/315570 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> nativist,<ref name="snegovaya">{{cite book |title=When Left Moves Right: The Decline of the Left and the Rise of the Populist Right in Postcommunist Europe |first=Maria |last=Snegovaya |year=2024 |isbn=978-0-19-769902-7 |doi=10.1093/oso/9780197699027.001.0001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |quote=Populist parties then appealed to such voters by integrating redistributive appeals with their sociocultural conservative nativist stances on the sociocultural dimension. There are diferent trajectories for parties to get there. While PiS and Fidesz started with cultural conservatism, only later adding redistributionist positions, the Czech KSČM was on the left economically from the start but subsequently adopted nativist positions. |quote-page=206}}</ref> and [[Left-conservatism|left-conservative]].<ref name="leftcon">{{cite journal |url=https://www.thuenen.de/media/publikationen/thuenen-workingpaper/ThuenenWorkingPaper_261.pdf |title=Left-behind Regions in Poland, Germany, Czechia: Classification and Electoral Implications |journal=Thünen Working Paper |issue=261 |year=2025 |author1=Josef Bernard |author2=Martin Refisch |author3=Anna Grzelak |author4=Jerzy Banski |author5=Larissa Deppisch |author6=Michal Konopski |author7=Tomáš Kostelecký |author8=Mariusz Kowalski |author9=Andreas Klärner |quote=KSČM – Komunistická strana Čech a Moravy (Communist party of Bohemia and Moravia) is a left-wing conservative populist party, the direct successor of the Communist Party that ruled before 1989, criticizing post-1989 political development and emphasizing social security issues. }}</ref> It is conservative on sociocultural matters.{{refn|<ref name="wondreys">{{cite journal |title=The "refugee crisis" and the transformation of the far right and the political mainstream: the extreme case of the Czech Republic |first=Jakub |last=Wondreys |year=2020 |doi=10.1080/21599165.2020.1856088 |journal=East European Politics |volume=37 |issue=4 |pages=722–746 |publisher=Taylor & Francis Group |quote-page=11 |quote=That said, the KSČM has long combined far left socio-economic policies with quite conservative socio-cultural positions, so this is not necessarily out of line with party history.}}</ref><ref name="cisar">{{cite journal |url=https://library.fes.de/pdf-files/id-moe/13079-20170119.pdf |title=Czech Republic: From Post-Communist Idealism to Economic Populism |year=2017 |first=Ondřej |last=Císař |author-link=:cs:Ondřej Císař |journal=International Policy Analysis |publisher=Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung |quote=The most stable among them is the direct heir to the pre-1989 ruling party, the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSČM), usually classified as an example of »social populism«. The party remains nominally on the left due to its economic program, but it is clearly very authoritarian and conservative in its sociocultural orientation, mirroring the values of predominantly older generations longing for the lost times of real socialism before 1989. |quote-page=8}}</ref>}} The ''[[Green European Journal]]'' described it as "culturally conservative, Islamophobic, and anti-EU, with many pro-Russian and openly far-right personalities in its ranks."<ref name="green_journal">{{cite journal |url=https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/no-country-for-progressive-women-european-elections-in-czechia/ |journal=[[Green European Journal]] |title=No Country for Progressive Women: European Elections in Czechia |date=30 May 2024 |first=Petra |last=Dvořáková |quote=The coalition Stačilo! ('Enough!'), led by the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia, may gain a seat or two in the European Parliament this year, but this isn’t good news for progressives. The Communist Party is culturally conservative, Islamophobic, and anti-EU, with many pro-Russian and openly far-right personalities in its ranks. }}</ref> Ideologically, the party is very similar to Slovak [[Direction – Social Democracy|Smer]] and German [[Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance|BSW]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Czech Republic external relations briefing: 2024 European Parliament Election: Campaign, Predictions & Trends |first=Ladislav |last=Zemánek |issn=2939-5933 |volume=73 |issue=4 |journal=Weekly Briefing |publisher=China-CEE Institute |page=7}}</ref> Political scientist [[:es:Luke March|Luke March]] also compares it to the Russian [[Communist Party of the Russian Federation|KPRF]]:{{blockquote|text=In particular, they are relatively weakly influenced by post-68 new left ideas or [[Eurocommunism]], and some evidence of environmentalism in KSCM and [[Communist Party of the Russian Federation|KPRF]] platforms notwithstanding, these two parties remain far more socially conservative, materialist, and national-chauvinist than more reformist parties such as [[Communist Refoundation Party|Rifondazione]] and even the [[French Communist Party|PCF]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=March |first1=Luke |author-link=:es:Luke March |date=2011 |isbn=978-0-203-15487-8 |title=Radical Left Parties in Europe |chapter=The fall and (partial) rise of the Eastern European communists |page=93 |publisher=Routledge |quote=Moreover, the KSCM’s documents show a commitment to a participative and pluralistic socialism.}}</ref>}}

The party's platform is considered to be based on key tenets of socialist ideology, as it supports the re-nationalization of the water, gas, electricity and transportation industries, the expansion of [[worker cooperatives]], and the introduction of communally-owned firms based on the economic model of socialist Czechoslovakia. The party argues that everyone should have a guaranteed right to a job, receiving a salary that corresponds to how demanding the job is, and that the [[minimum wage]] should correspond to half the national average income. KSČM also promotes a system of non-profit hospitals and a single state-owned health insurance company. It says it would be willing to participate in non-socialist governments as long as its six demands are met: regular increases in both the minimum wage and pensions, expanding public ownership of water utilities, extraction of natural resources only by domestic companies, construction of communal housing, and abolishing patient fees in health care.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Communist Party is supporting the Czech coalition government. What are the implications? |newspaper=[[Washington Post]] |date=26 July 2018 |first1=Mary |last1=Stegmaier |first2=Lukáš |last2=Linek |quote=The KSCM’s domestic platform emphasizes key tenets of socialist ideology — including the re-nationalization of key utilities such as water, gas, electricity and transportation. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/07/26/the-communist-party-is-supporting-the-czech-coalition-government-what-are-the-implications/}}</ref>

Political scientist Maria Snegovaya wrote that "over the years, KSČM adopted a platform reminiscent of those used by populist right parties in other countries: protectionist on the economic dimension, Euroskeptic and nationalist on the sociocultural dimension". It rejects [[European integration]] as "capitalist" and "neoliberal", arguing that it is destructive to the living conditions of citizens and ignores social issues. KSČM is considered to be an anti-Western party, and opposes Czech membership of NATO on nationalist grounds, calling NATO "US- and Germany-dominated" and naming it, alongside the [[Lisbon Treaty]], as "a threat to Czech state sovereignty that led to the exploitation of Czech interests by multinational capitalist forces". Party representatives also advocate for the legitimization of the Russian policy towards Ukraine, regarding [[Crimea]] as a Russian territory and opposing EU sanctions against Russia. In 2014, KSČM leader Vojtech Filip visited Russia, and party members served as election observers in the [[Donetsk People's Republic]] and the [[Luhansk People’s Republic]].<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.europeanvalues.cz/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Comparing-Lessons-Learned-from-Countering-Russian-Disinformation-in-Georgia-and-the-Czech-Republic.pdf |title=Comparing Lessons Learned from Countering Russian Disinformation in Georgia and Czech Republic |journal=Kremlin Watch Report |year=2020 |first=Mariam |last=Tsitsikashvili |pages=7–8 |publisher=European Values Center for Security Policy}}</ref>

Regarding the [[Gaza War]], the KSČM "strongly condemns the ongoing aggression of the State of Israel against Lebanon, which follows a year of brutal Israeli aggression in the Palestinian Gaza Strip."<ref>{{cite thesis |url=https://dspace.cuni.cz/bitstream/handle/20.500.11956/201222/130418661.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |title=Bezpečnostní politika České republiky: Divergence názorů SPD a STAČILO! |first=Marek |last=Šťastna |year=2025 |degree=Bakalářská práce. Politologie a Mezinárodní vztahy |publisher=Univerzita Karlova |location=Praha |page=40 |language=cs}}</ref> KSČM is considered "a staunch ally of China, both in domestic and international contexts." Since the 1990s, members of the party have been frequently visiting China on state-organized tours, and the KSČM also attended a conference on Chinese policies in [[Xinjiang]] organized by the [[Chinese Communist Party]]. The party criticizes the Czech government for its support of Taiwan and "aggressive and interventionist stance on China". It argues that the Czech Republic should instead recognize [[One China principle]] and also accuses 'US-funded NGOs' on shaping the Czech foreign policy.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.amo.cz/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/AMO_EU-elections_analysis.pdf |title=From the Fringes to the Forefront: How Extreme Parties in the European Parliament Can Shape EU-China Relations |first1=Kara |last1=Němečková |first2=Ivana |last2=Karásková |isbn=978-80-88470-45-8 |year=2024 |publisher=Association for International Affairs (AMO) |page=38}}</ref> Along with Russia and China, KSČM also expressed support for Cuba, Venezuela, and Belarus.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://rosalux.eu/wp-content/uploads/kontext-import/documents/d/0/cadb4f.pdf |title=From Revolution to Coalition – Radical Left Parties in Europe |issn=2194-864X |first=Stanislav |last=Holubec |author-link=:cs:Stanislav Holubec |chapter=The Czech Radical Left |publisher=Rosa-Luxemburg-Foundation |year=2022 |page=191}}</ref>

The party has been described as embracing "a [[Social conservatism|socially conservative]] and nationalist platform in the democratic era".<ref>{{cite news |last= Broszkowski |first= Roman |date= 13 January 2023 |title= The Czech Left Faces a Long Road to Recovery |url= https://jacobin.com/2023/01/czech-presidential-election-left-wing-parties-recovery |work= Jacobin |access-date= 2 August 2025}}</ref> On the GAL-TAN (green/alternative/libertarian vs. traditional/authoritarian/nationalist) dimension used to measure sociocultural values, the KSČM is "a radical left party both in terms of its general positioning and economic stances, but characterised by holding traditional, authoritarian and nationalist (TAN) views."<ref>{{cite journal |title=The crisis of the left in the Czech Republic, a party-elite perspective (KSČM and SOCDEM) |journal=Studia Politica. Romanian Political Science Review |volume=25 |issue=1 |year=2025 |issn=3008-6566 |doi=10.62229/sprps25-1/6 |first1=Tomáš |last1=Cirhan |first2=Mattia |last2=Collini |publisher=Bucharest University Press |page=155}}</ref> It was described as [[illiberal]], and its sociocultural views are considered to be as TAN as the ones of [[KDU-ČSL]].<ref>{{cite thesis |url=https://digitalcollections.wesleyan.edu/_flysystem/fedora/2023-03/24020-Original%20File.pdf |title=Deterioration Through Dichotomization: Party Systems, Polarization, and Democratic Backsliding in Post-Communist Eastern Europe |year=2022 |quote="Voters with TAN stances on cultural issues who were skeptical of Dawn/the SPD’s illiberalism could opt for the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL). ČSSD had long been an alternative to the illiberal communist party (KSČM) among leftists." |first=Will |last=Halm |publisher=Wesleyan University |location=Middletown, Connecticut |page=124}}</ref> Jan Rovny of [[Sciences Po]] commented on the party: "Its socioeconomic program may be left-wing, but it is otherwise a nationalist, anti-immigrant, very conservative party."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.respekt.cz/respekt-in-english/the-czech-left-on-the-ropes |title=The Czech Left On the Ropes |first=Petr |last=Horký |date=11 June 2021 |website=[[Respekt]] |translator=Gwendolyn Albert}}</ref> According to historian [[:cs:Stanislav Holubec|Stanislav Holubec]], the party's newspaper [[Haló noviny]] publishes "nationalistic, Stalinist, authoritarian and homophobic items".<ref>{{cite book |url=https://rosalux.eu/wp-content/uploads/kontext-import/documents/d/0/cadb4f.pdf |title=From Revolution to Coalition – Radical Left Parties in Europe |issn=2194-864X |first=Stanislav |last=Holubec |author-link=:cs:Stanislav Holubec |chapter=The Czech Radical Left |publisher=Rosa-Luxemburg-Foundation |year=2022 |page=194}}</ref>

The party does not present an official stance on [[LGBT]] issues.<ref>{{cite thesis |url=https://is.muni.cz/th/w2j98/Hlavackova_Katerina_Bakalarska_prace.pdf |language=cs |title=Důvody nepřijetí novely o stejnopohlavním manželství – série rozhovorů pro online deník Aktuálně.cz |first=Kateřina |last=Hlaváčková |location=Brno |year=2021 |publisher=Masarykova Univerzita |page=22}}</ref> In 2014, 20 MPs from [[Civic Democratic Party (Czech Republic)|ODS]], [[Public Affairs (political party)|VV]], [[Order of the Nation (political party)|LIDEM]], [[Social Democracy (Czech Republic)|ČSSD]], [[TOP 09]] and KSČM drafted an unsuccessful amendment to allow [[stepchild adoption]] within same-sex registered partnerships.<ref>{{cite journal |title=ILGA-Europe: Annual Review of the Human Rights Situation of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex People in Europe 2014 |year=2022 |isbn=978-92-95066-11-3 |publisher=Corelio Printing |department=Czech Republic |first=Sijla |last=Pogule |page=61 |journal=ILGA-Europe Annual Review 2014}}</ref> In June 2018, 46 MPs from [[ANO (political party)|ANO]], ČSSD, the [[Czech Pirate Party|Pirate Party]], [[Mayors and Independents|STAN]], TOP 09 and KSČM introduced a draft bill to abolish registered partnerships and introduce [[same-sex marriage]].<ref>{{cite thesis |publisher=Univerzita Karlova |title=Stejnopohlavní sňatky jako politické téma v českém veřejném prostoru |date=3 May 2022 |first=Tomáš |last=Novotný |degree=Politologie a veřejná politika |language=cs |page=15}}</ref> However, the majority of KSČM MPs were opposed to same-sex marriage.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.idnes.cz/zpravy/domaci/manzelstvi-homosexualu-snemovna-zakon.A181114_135435_domaci_kop |language=cs |website=[[:cz:iDNES.cz|iDNES]] |title=Je nás pět až deset procent, řekla Šlechtová k manželství gayů a leseb |first=Josef |last=Kopecký |date=14 November 2018 |quote="Mezi poslanci KSČM je ale s tímto názorem v menšině."}}</ref> Political scientist Tomáš Novotný described the party's view on same-sex marriage as "rather negative",<ref>{{cite thesis |publisher=Univerzita Karlova |title=Stejnopohlavní sňatky jako politické téma v českém veřejném prostoru |date=3 May 2022 |first=Tomáš |last=Novotný |degree=Politologie a veřejná politika |language=cs |page=35}}</ref> while [[Balkan Insight]] wrote that the party is in "staunch opposition" to it.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2020/03/18/czech-activists-bang-their-heads-against-rainbow-wall/ |date=18 March 2020 |title=Czech Activists Bang Their Heads Against 'Rainbow Wall' |first=Tim |last=Gosling |location=Prague |publisher=BIRN |website=[[Balkan Insight]] |quote="The centrist Pirates and small centre-right Stan are the only parties to show solid support. Staunch opposition is found on the part of the far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy, the Communist party and the Christian Democrat KDU-CSL."}}</ref> KSČM does not consider [[gender equality]] to be a policy aim, and voted against the Antidiscrimination Bill.<ref>{{cite thesis |title=Gender in Law Under and After State Socialism: The Example of the Czech Republic |first=Barbara |last=Havelková |degree=DPhil |publisher=Exeter College |year=2013 |url=https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:257dea4e-40ea-4ca0-ae4b-4e99ad4b88a6/files/rkk91fm35h |pages=209–210}}</ref> The party also argues that immigrants are taking advantage of the Czech social system, including economic immigrants.<ref>{{cite thesis |title=Political Discourse on Immigration in the Czech Republic: A Critical Analysis |date=August 2015 |last=Vendula |first=Ženatá |degree=Master in International Relations |publisher=Anglo-American University |url=https://www.aauni.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/sird-thesis-vendula-zenata.pdf |pages=154–155 |quote="This theme of immigrants' taking advantage of our social system is present in the case of KSČM and the Dawn of Direct democracy, with the difference that in the case of these parties, economic immigrants are portrayed as all draining the social system (whereas the Social Democrats point out that only those unqualified do). [...] it is evident that some parties typecast all economic migrants as a drain on our social system (above all KSČM and Úsvit)."}}</ref> It denounced the EU migration quota system, describing the EU as a "dictatorship" and declaring that the Czechs are "not pupils of Brussels".<ref>{{cite journal |title=The "Heretic" debate on European asylum quotas in the Czech Republic: A content analysis |first1=Martin |last1=Hrabálek |first2=Vladimir |last2=Đorđević |journal=Kontakt |year=2017 |volume=19 |issue=4 |doi=10.1016/j.kontakt.2017.09.010 |issn=1804-7122 |publisher=Elsevier |page=324|doi-access=free }}</ref>

After the election of Konečná as the leader of the party in 2021, KSČM "reinforced its image as a Eurosceptic, populist radical-left party, while increasingly shifting towards conservative and nationalist positions, particularly in its criticism of the European Union, migration, and LGBT policies". This was coupled with reinforcing its strongly pro-Russian position and the foundation of [[Stačilo!]], where the party formed an alliance with nationalist-conservative parties which marked "a further departure from its left-wing roots." It is argued that KSČM underwent a "transformation towards a nationalist-populist party".<ref name="Bucharest University Press">{{cite journal |title=The crisis of the left in the Czech Republic, a party-elite perspective (KSČM and SOCDEM) |journal=Studia Politica. Romanian Political Science Review |volume=25 |issue=1 |year=2025 |issn=3008-6566 |doi=10.62229/sprps25-1/6 |first1=Tomáš |last1=Cirhan |first2=Mattia |last2=Collini |publisher=Bucharest University Press |page=153}}</ref> At the same time, while increasingly adopting traditionalist, authoritarian and nationalist stances on social issues, the party preserved its economically communist character.<ref name="Bucharest University Press"/> Political scientist Michael Perottino argues that KSČM "clearly turned from red to “brown,” becoming less leftist than nationalist" and that the main traits of the party's ideology have become "sovereigntism and nationalism, pro-Russian positions at any cost, and the fight against NATO".<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Studia Politica. Romanian Political Science Review |volume=25 |issue=1 |year=2025 |first=Michel |last=Perottino |title=At the Roots of the Current Transformation of the Czech Communist Party |doi=10.62229/sprps25-1/7 |issn=3008-6566 |url=https://journals.unibuc.ro/index.php/sprps/article/view/1151 |publisher=University of Bucharest Journals |page=183, 200|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

== Leaders ==
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|--
! #
! width=180|Name<br /><small>(Born–Died)</small>
! Portrait
! colspan=2|Term of Office
|--
!align=center | 1
| [[Jiří Machalík]]<br /><small>(1945–2014)</small>|| [[File:Jiří_Machalík.jpg|70px]] || 31 March 1990 || 13 October 1990
|--
!align=center | 2
| [[Jiří Svoboda (director)|Jiří Svoboda]]<br /><small>(b. 1945)</small> || [[File:Jiří_Svoboda_directing_Jan_Hus_(34).jpg|70px]] || 13 October 1990 || 25 June 1993
|--
!align=center | 3
| [[Miroslav Grebeníček]]<br /><small>(b. 1947)</small> || [[File:Miroslav_Grebeníček_(Portrait).jpg|70px]] || 25 June 1993 || 1 October 2005
|--
!align=center | 4
| [[Vojtěch Filip]]<br /><small>(b. 1955)</small> || [[File:Vojtěch_Filip_2013_(cropped).JPG|70px]] || 1 October 2005 || 9 October 2021
|--
!align=center | 5
| [[Kateřina Konečná]]<br /><small>(b. 1981)</small> || [[File:Kateřina Konečná.jpg|93x93px]]|| 23 October 2021 || ''present''
|--
|}

== Electoral results ==
The voter base of KSČM is dominated by blue-collar workers and retired workers; it also preserves strong links to trade union activists, and 57% of its supporters are drawn from trade unions. About 20% of trade unions members are supporters of KSČM. The party's membership and voter structure shows a disproportional share of blue-collar workers, and working-class voters in general.<ref>{{cite thesis |title=Ex-Communist Party Choices and the Electoral Success of the Radical Right in Central and Eastern Europe |first=Maria |last=Snegovaya |publisher=Columbia University |year=2018 |id={{CORE output|161515337}} |degree=Doctor of Philosophy |page=131}}</ref> The party's voter base is predominantly those who are dissatisfied with the functioning of Czech democracy, distrust public institutions, or live in areas with high levels of unemployment and crime.<ref>{{cite book |title=When Left Moves Right: The Decline of the Left and the Rise of the Populist Right in Postcommunist Europe |first=Maria |last=Snegovaya |year=2024 |isbn=978-0-19-769902-7 |doi=10.1093/oso/9780197699027.001.0001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=155–156}}</ref> It is stronger among older than younger voters, with the majority of its membership over 60.{{sfn|Bozóki|Ishiyama|2002|p=155}} The party is also stronger in small and medium-sized towns than in big cities.{{sfn|Bozóki|Ishiyama|2002|p=156}}

=== Parliament ===
[[File:Demonstrace proti Ondráčkovi, Praha, Václavské náměstí 01.jpg|thumb|272x272px|A protest against the election of [[Zdeněk Ondráček]]]]
[[File:May Day Rally in Brno 01.JPG|thumb|275x275px|A [[May Day]] meeting in Brno organized by the party]]
[[File:Vojtech Filip.jpg|thumb|276x276px|Former party leader [[Vojtěch Filip]]]]

==== Chamber of Deputies ====
{|class=wikitable style=text-align:center
|-
|colspan=8|[[Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic]]
|-
!Year
!Leader
!Votes
!%
!Seats
!±
!Place
!Position
|-
![[1990 Czech National Council election|1990]]
|[[Jiří Machalík]]
|954,690
|13.2
|{{composition bar|33|200|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|''New''
|2nd
|style="background:#fcc;" align=center|Opposition
|-
![[1992 Czech National Council election|1992]]
|[[Jiří Svoboda (politician)|Jiří Svoboda]]
|909,490
|14.0{{efn|name=LeftBloc}}
|{{composition bar|35|200|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{increase}} 2
|2nd
|style="background:#fcc;" align=center|Opposition
|-
![[1996 Czech parliamentary election|1996]]
|[[Miroslav Grebeníček]]
|626,136
|10.3
|{{composition bar|22|200|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{decrease}} 13
|3rd
|style="background:#fcc;" align=center|Opposition
|-
![[1998 Czech parliamentary election|1998]]
|[[Miroslav Grebeníček]]
|658,550
|11.0
|{{composition bar|24|200|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{increase}} 2
|3rd
|style="background:#fcc;" align=center|Opposition
|-
![[2002 Czech parliamentary election|2002]]
|[[Miroslav Grebeníček]]
|882,653
|18.5
|{{composition bar|41|200|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{increase}} 17
|3rd
|style="background:#fcc;" align=center|Opposition
|-
![[2006 Czech parliamentary election|2006]]
|[[Vojtěch Filip]]
|685,328
|12.8
|{{composition bar|26|200|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{decrease}} 15
|3rd
|style="background:#fcc;" align=center|Opposition
|-
![[2010 Czech parliamentary election|2010]]
|[[Vojtěch Filip]]
|589,765
|11.3
|{{composition bar|26|200|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{steady}} 0
|4th
|style="background:#fcc;" align=center|Opposition
|-
![[2013 Czech parliamentary election|2013]]
|[[Vojtěch Filip]]
|741,044
|14.9
|{{composition bar|33|200|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{increase}} 7
|3rd
|style="background:#fcc;" align=center|Opposition
|-
![[2017 Czech parliamentary election|2017]]
|[[Vojtěch Filip]]
|393,100
|7.8
|{{composition bar|15|200|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{decrease}} 18
|5th
|{{partial|Confidence and supply}}
|-
![[2021 Czech parliamentary election|2021]]
|[[Vojtěch Filip]]
|193,817
|3.6
|{{composition bar|0|200|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{decrease}} 15
|7th
|style="background:Lightgray;"|No seats
|-
! rowspan=2 |[[2025 Czech parliamentary election|2025]]
|[[Kateřina Konečná]]
|242,031
|4.3
|{{composition bar|0|200|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{steady}} 0
|7th
|style="background:Lightgray;"|No seats
|-
| colspan=7 | Part of [[Stačilo!]], which won 0 seats in total
|}
; Notes
{{notelist
| refs =
{{efn
| name = LeftBloc
| In 1992, KSČM participated in the [[Left Bloc (Czech Republic)|Left Bloc]], an electoral alliance with smaller left-wing groups and independents.{{sfn|Bozóki|Ishiyama|2002|p=146}}
}}
}}
<gallery>
File:KSČM - 1996.svg|KSCM 1996
File:KSČM - 1998.svg|KSCM 1998
File:KSČM - 2002.svg|KSCM 2002
File:KSČM - 2006.svg|KSCM 2006
File:KSČM - 2010.svg|KSCM 2010
File:KSČM - 2013.svg|KSCM 2013
File:KSČM - 2017.svg|KSCM 2017
File:KSČM - 2021.svg|KSCM 2021
</gallery>

==== Senate ====
{|class=wikitable style=text-align:center
|-
|colspan=8|[[Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic]]
|-
!rowspan=2|Year
!colspan=2|First round
!colspan=2|Second round
!rowspan=2|No. of seats won
!rowspan=2|No. of<br/>overall seats won
!rowspan=2|±
|-
!Votes
!%
!Votes
!%
|-
![[1996 Czech Senate election|1996]]
|393,494
|14.3
|45,304
|2.0
|{{composition bar|2|81|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{composition bar|2|81|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|''New''
|-
![[1998 Czech Senate election|1998]]
|159,123
|16.5
|31,097
|5.8
|{{composition bar|2|27|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{composition bar|4|81|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{increase}} 2
|-
![[2000 Czech Senate election|2000]]
|152,934
|17.8
|73,372
|13.0
|{{composition bar|0|27|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{composition bar|3|81|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{decrease}} 1
|-
![[2002 Czech Senate election|2002]]
|110,171
|16.5
|57,434
|7.0
|{{composition bar|1|27|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{composition bar|3|81|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{steady}} 0
|-
![[2004 Czech Senate election|2004]]
|125,892
|17.4
|65,136
|13.6
|{{composition bar|1|27|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{composition bar|2|81|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{decrease}} 1
|-
![[2006 Czech Senate election|2006]]
|134,863
|12.7
|26,001
|4.5
|{{composition bar|0|27|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{composition bar|2|81|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{steady}} 0
|-
![[2008 Czech Senate election|2008]]
|147,186
|14.1
|''did not make it''
|''did not make it''
|{{composition bar|1|27|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{composition bar|3|81|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{increase}} 1
|-
![[2010 Czech Senate election|2010]]
|117,374
|10.2
|''did not make it''
|''did not make it''
|{{composition bar|0|27|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{composition bar|2|81|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{decrease}} 1
|-
![[2012 Czech Senate election|2012]]
|153,335
|17.4
|79,663
|15.5
|{{composition bar|1|27|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{composition bar|2|81|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{steady}} 0
|-
![[2014 Czech Senate election|2014]]
|99,973
|9.74
|''did not make it''
|''did not make it''
|{{composition bar|0|27|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{composition bar|1|81|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{decrease}} 1
|-
![[2016 Czech Senate election|2016]]
|83,741
|9.50
|5,737
|1.35
|{{composition bar|0|27|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{composition bar|1|81|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{steady}} 0
|-
![[2018 Czech Senate election|2018]]
|80,371
|7.38
|3,578
|0.86
|{{composition bar|0|27|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{composition bar|0|81|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{decrease}} 1
|-
![[2020 Czech Senate election|2020]]
|40,994
|4.11
|''did not make it''
|''did not make it''
|{{composition bar|0|27|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{composition bar|0|81|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{steady}} 0
|-
![[2022 Czech Senate election|2022]]
|17,612
|1.60
|''did not make it''
|''did not make it''
|{{composition bar|0|27|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{composition bar|0|81|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{steady}} 0
|-
![[2024 Czech Senate election|2024]]
|14,321
|1.80
|''did not make it''
|''did not make it''
|{{composition bar|0|27|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{composition bar|0|81|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{steady}} 0
|}

=== European Parliament ===
{|class=wikitable style=text-align:center
|-
! Election
! List leader
! Votes
! %
! Seats
! +/−
! EP Group
|-
![[2004 European Parliament election in the Czech Republic|2004]]
|rowspan=2 |[[Miloslav Ransdorf]]
|472,862
|20.27 (#2)
|{{composition bar|6|24|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|New
|rowspan=3 |[[European United Left/Nordic Green Left|GUE/NGL]]
|-
![[2009 European Parliament election in the Czech Republic|2009]]
|334,577
|14.18 (#3)
|{{composition bar|4|22|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{decrease}} 2
|-
![[2014 European Parliament election in the Czech Republic|2014]]
|rowspan=3 |[[Kateřina Konečná]]
|166,478
|10.99 (#4)
|{{composition bar|3|21|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{decrease}} 1
|-
![[2019 European Parliament election in the Czech Republic|2019]]
|164,624
|6.94 (#7)
|{{composition bar|1|21|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{decrease}} 2
|[[The Left in the European Parliament – GUE/NGL|The Left]]
|-
![[2024 European Parliament election in the Czech Republic|2024]]{{efn|Run as part of the [[Stačilo!]] coalition.}}
|283,935
|9.56 (#4)
|{{composition bar|1|21|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{steady}} 0
|''[[Non-Inscrits|NI]]''
|}
{{Notelist}}

=== Local councils ===
{|class=wikitable
!Year
!Votes
!%
!Seats
|-
|[[1994 Czech municipal elections|1994]]
|17,413,545
|13.6
|{{composition bar|5837|62160|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|-
|[[1998 Czech municipal elections|1998]]
|10,703,975
|13.7
|{{composition bar|5748|62920|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|-
|[[2002 Czech municipal elections|2002]]
|11 696 976 
|14.5
|{{composition bar|5702|62494|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|-
|[[2006 Czech municipal elections|2006]]
|11,730,243
|10.8
|{{composition bar|4268|62426|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|-
|[[2010 Czech municipal elections|2010]]
|8,628,685
|9.6
|{{composition bar|3189|62178|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|-
|[[2014 Czech municipal elections|2014]]
|7,730,503
|7.8
|{{composition bar|2510|62300|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|-
|[[2018 Czech municipal elections|2018]]
|5,416,907
|4.9
|{{composition bar|1426|62300|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|-
|[[2022 Czech municipal elections|2022]]
|2,093,505
|1.9
|{{composition bar|466|62300|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|}

=== Regional councils ===
{|class=wikitable
!Year
!Votes
!%
!Seats
!±
!Place
|-
|[[2000 Czech regional elections|2000]]
|496,688
|21.1
|{{composition bar|161|675|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|''New''
|3rd
|-
|[[2004 Czech regional elections|2004]]
|416,807 {{decrease}}
|19.7 {{decrease}}
|{{composition bar|157|675|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{decrease}}
|2nd
|-
|[[2008 Czech regional elections|2008]]
|438,024 {{increase}}
|15.0 {{decrease}}
|{{composition bar|114|675|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{decrease}}
|3rd
|-
|[[2012 Czech regional elections|2012]]
|538,953 {{increase}}
|20.4 {{increase}}
|{{composition bar|182|675|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{increase}}
|2nd
|-
|[[2016 Czech regional elections|2016]]
|267,047 {{decrease}}
|10.6 {{decrease}}
|{{composition bar|86|675|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{decrease}}
|3rd
|-
|[[2020 Czech regional elections|2020]]
|131,770 {{decrease}}
|4.8 {{decrease}}
|{{composition bar|13|675|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{decrease}}
|9th
|-
|[[2024 Czech regional elections|2024]]{{efn|Ran as part of the [[Stačilo!]] coalition.}}
|147,594 {{increase}}
|6.2 {{increase}}
|{{composition bar|40|685|{{party color|Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}}}
|{{increase}}
|5th
|}
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{cite book|last1=Bozóki|first1=András|last2=Ishiyama|first2=John|year=2002|title=The Communist Successor Parties of Central and Eastern Europe|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-7656-0986-1}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book|editor-last1=Hough|editor-first1=Dan|editor-last2=Paterson|editor-first2=William E.|editor-last3=Sloam|editor-first3=James|year=2005|title=Learning from the West? Policy Transfer and Programmatic Change in the Communist Successor Parties of East Central Europe|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-37316-6}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Komunistická strana Čech a Moravy}}
* [http://www.kscm.cz/ KSČM website]
* [http://www.ksm.cz Communist Youth Union website]

{{Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia}}
{{European communist parties}}
{{Party of the European Left}}
{{Czech political parties}}
{{authority control}}

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