Who runs local government in Czechia?

Czechia has two levels of self-government: 14 regions (kraje, including Prague) and 6,258 municipalities (obce). The municipalities are extremely small – the median has about 440 residents – because a 1990 law let villages split away. Councils are directly elected; mayors and regional governors are chosen by their councils, not by voters. Municipal councils were last elected on 9–10 October 2026.

Czech Republic · Unitary republic · Eastern Europe

The levels of government below the nation

Level	How it is chosen	What it does
Regions – kraje (13 + Prague)	Regional assembly directly elected every four years (last in 2024); it elects the hejtman (regional governor)	Secondary schools, regional hospitals, roads, public transport, regional planning.
Municipalities – obce (6,258)	Council (zastupitelstvo) directly elected every four years; council elects the mayor (starosta, or primátor in statutory cities)	Local services and also state tasks delegated to them; 'municipalities with extended powers' do state administration for surrounding villages.
City districts (statutory cities and Prague's 57 boroughs)	Elected district councils where the city charter creates them	Local services inside large cities.

Three questions about local power in Czechia

Are local leaders elected?

Municipal and regional councils are directly elected. Mayors and the hejtman are elected by councillors, not directly by voters. Settlement committees are appointed by the municipal council.

Which laws set up local government?

The Constitution (Chapter 7) and the Municipalities Act (No. 128/2000) and Regions Act set out the system. Associations and volunteer groups are informal or civil-law bodies.

Who are local leaders accountable to?

Councils can remove mayors; voters judge councils at elections and can call local referendums. The Ministry of the Interior and regional offices check legality, and courts can cancel unlawful acts.

Traditional and customary authority

No customary or traditional authority exists in law or in practice. Czechia is one of Europe's least religious countries and churches have no role in local government.

Community and neighbourhood power

A municipality may set up an osadní výbor (settlement committee) for a village or part of the municipality; it gives advice and makes proposals to the council. Many tiny villages rely on volunteer fire brigades and clubs. Around 90% of municipalities co-operate in voluntary associations (svazky obcí) to share services, because most are too small to act alone.

Points to know

Czech municipalities had the smallest average size in the OECD in 2021 (about 1,710 people); 88.6% had under 2,000 residents.
The number of municipalities rose from about 4,100 in 1990 to 6,230 by 1994 after villages split off; since 2000 a new municipality needs at least 1,000 people.
Old districts (okresy) no longer have their own government but still mark court, police and archive areas.
Prague is both a region and a municipality, with one assembly and a mayor (primátor) elected by it.

Local terms

Obec: Municipality, from a tiny village to a large city.
Starosta: Mayor, elected by the municipal council.
Hejtman: Head of a region, elected by the regional assembly.
Osadní výbor: Settlement committee that speaks for one village within a municipality.

Sources

Constitution of the Czech Republic (1993, rev. 2013), Constitute Project, checked 14 October 2026
Czech Republic: country profile (territorial organisation, responsibilities, finance), OECD–UCLG World Observatory on Subnational Government Finance and Investment (SNG-WOFI), checked 14 October 2026
Election results and referendums (municipal councils 2026, regional assemblies 2024), Czech Statistical Office – volby.cz, checked 14 October 2026