Robert Muller, Michael Kahn

PRAGUE (Reuters – Czech citizens voted to expel communists from Parliament on Saturday, the first since the end World War Two. The vote swept out a party whose ancestors ruled Central Europe between 1948 and 1989 when democracy was established.

The communists jailed tens of thousands in forced labor camps in the 1950s and brutally repressed dissidents such as playwright-turned-president Vaclav Havel, but remained in parliament following the revolution.

In this week’s election https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/czechs-vote-final-day-election-pm-babis-seeks-cling-power-2021-10-08, the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia took 3.62% of the votes with nearly all precincts reporting, less than the 5% needed to enter parliament and potentially marking a final chapter for a party that has gradually shrunk as its ageing membership dwindled.

Jiri Gruntorad (69), a dissident, was incarcerated for subversion by communist authorities from 1981 to 1985. But it’s getting too late.

It was the only communist party in the world that retained its name, apart from those of China and Cuba. “The others, at the very least, have renamed themselves to be a bit more like them and are now acting a bit differently.”

Surprisingly, voters also defeated Prime Minister Andrej Babis’ ANO party in opposition to centre-right group Together.

Although communists attempted to appeal to seniors and Czechs of working class, they failed to resonate with younger voters. They also did not change the history of the party as totalitarian dictators who suppressed freedom.

Vojtech Filip, the Communist Party leader, said “I’m very disappointed” and resigned.

POST-1989

Havel opposed the ban on the party. He resisted NATO and European Union membership of the country and maintained warm relations with Russia and China, despite repeated calls for him to.

After 1989, the communists were mostly isolated. However they did cooperate with other parties to get votes for legislation. They had also been close to President Milos Zeman.

After Babis (a former Communist Party member) leaned heavily on them in 2018, the party was able to regain its influence. He wanted his Social Democrats-backed minority government.

This was not only the closest that the party got to power in 1989, but also appears to be their last act as an active political force in the ex-Soviet bloc nation.

“I am overjoyed that this era is now over – not only for those of us still living, but also for those who have passed away and who were persecuted by the regime,” said Hana Palcova, 74, who left the country under threat from the secret police.