Ruling coalition prevails

PRAGUE — A senior government party in the Czech republic linked to conservative Prime Minister Petr Fiala has won an election for a third of the seats in Parliament’s upper house.

The ruling coalition parties have also retained a dominant position in the Senate. With all the votes counted Saturday by the Statistics Office, the Civic Democratic Party won eight of the 27 seats up for grabs in the 81-seat Senate.

Overall, the coalition parties won 18 seats. Recent large demonstrations against the Czech government due to its handling of the energy crisis and support for Ukraine didn’t translate into gains for the opposition.