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Strokovnjaki, ki delujejo v projektu V-Dem so predlagali empirično metodologijo za določanje dinamike avtoritarnosti oz. demokratizacije volilnega procesa (indeks volilne demokracije). Na Slovaškem so bile medglavnimi dejavniki, ki so vplivale na demokratičnost volilnega procesa, uspešne institucionalne reforme poznih devetdesetih in prvih letih tega stoletja, ki jim je sledilo poglabljanje in izvajanje evro-integracijskih procesov. Dejavniki, ki vplivajo na avtoritarnost volilnih procesov, vključujejo razmerje med udeležbo volivcev in preglednostjo volilnega procesa, radikalizacijo prostora političnih strank in prevlado enega političnega akterja v strankarskem sistemu in vladnih strukturah (SMER-SD). Slovaška je šla skozi vse možne faze v dinamiki volilnega procesa, kar je pomenilo zapleteno demokratično preobrazbo države, npr. upad avtoritarnosti (1993-2000), stagnacijo (2001-2016) in ponovno večanje avtoritarnosti (2017-2019). Vzačetku leta 2020 so parlamentarne volitve po globoki politični in vladni krizi postale volilni posnetek slovaške družbe.

Preventing violence prevalent in democratic elections globally has remained a concern to world governments, election observation groups, electoral management bodies, civil society organisations, and academia. This is because a peaceful electoral process strengthens democracy, enhances election credibility, and boosts the legitimacy of the elected government. Voter education (VE) provides the potential voters with basic information about the significance and time of voting, the location of voting centres, how to exercise their voting rights, and measures put in place to secure votes, voters, electoral observers, party agents, and electoral officials, etc. in the bid to achieve a credible and peaceful election. However, despite several current legal and institutional safeguards, violence has been anathema to Nigeria’s electoral trajectory from the start of the Fourth Republic. This study assessed the impact of voter education as a practical method for reducing violence in Nigeria’s post-2019 elections, where mixed methods of data were adopted. Also, simple random and purposive sampling techniques were employed to harvest data from 389 respondents. The study was analysed using ordinal regression analysis. The study found that information dissemination impacted the reduction of the electoral violence significantly, while problem identification and community-based processes did not impact the electoral violence significantly.

Objective/context: This introductory article to the dossier on Legislative and Presidential Elections 2022 of Colombia Internacional seeks to describe important features of the 2022 electoral campaign, as well as present the configuration of the party system based on the results of both legislative and presidential elections. The goal is to provide a general context of national elections, complementing the specific contributions and findings of the articles that make up this issue. Methodology: This article proposes a reading of the 2022 election results based on both some electoral data and indices as well as a qualitative look at what happened in those elections and how it may relate to the local elections of 2023. Conclusions: Some reflections are offered on both the possible impact of the composition of forces in national elections on local elections, and on executive-legislative relations resulting from the new configuration of the party system and the implementation of the Opposition Statute. Originality: This issue presents readings of elections that emphasize citizens’ political behavior and move away from traditional emphasis on political parties. Objetivo/contexto: este artículo introductorio al dosier sobre las elecciones legislativas y presidenciales de 2022 de Colombia Internacional busca describir rasgos importantes de la campaña electoral de ese año, así como presentar la configuración del sistema de partidos a partir de los resultados tanto de las elecciones legislativas como de las presidenciales. Lo anterior con el objetivo de ofrecer un contexto general de las elecciones nacionales, en complemento con los aportes y hallazgos específicos de los artículos que componen este número. Metodología: se propone una lectura de los resultados electorales de 2022 con base en algunos datos e índices electorales y en una mirada cualitativa de lo sucedido en esos comicios, y la relación que ello puede tener con las elecciones territoriales de 2023. Conclusiones: se ofrecen algunas reflexiones en torno al posible impacto de la composición de fuerzas en las elecciones nacionales sobre las elecciones locales, y a las relaciones Ejecutivo-Legislativo producto de la nueva configuración del sistema de partidos y la puesta en práctica del Estatuto de la Oposición. Originalidad: este número presenta lecturas de las elecciones que hacen énfasis en el comportamiento político de los ciudadanos y se alejan del acento tradicional en los partidos políticos. Objetivo/contexto: este artigo introdutório do dossiê sobre Eleições legislativas e presidenciais 2022 da Colombia Internacional busca descrever características importantes da campanha eleitoral de 2022, bem como apresentar a configuração do sistema de partidos com base nos resultados tanto das eleições legislativas quanto das presidenciais. O objetivo é fornecer um contexto geral das eleições nacionais, complementando as contribuições e descobertas específicas dos artigos que compõem este número. Metodologia: este artigo propõe uma leitura dos resultados eleitorais de 2022 com base em alguns dados e índices eleitorais, bem como uma visão qualitativa do que aconteceu nessas eleições e como isso pode se relacionar com as eleições territoriais de 2023. Conclusões: são oferecidas algumas reflexões tanto sobre o possível impacto da composição de forças nas eleições nacionais sobre as eleições locais, quanto sobre as relações executivo-legislativo resultantes da nova configuração do sistema de partidos e da implementação do Estatuto da Oposição. Originalidade: este número apresenta leituras das eleições que enfatizam o comportamento político dos cidadãos e se afastam do ênfase tradicional nos partidos políticos.

There are constant risks and threats to fair elections against the background of the current crisis of democratic civic engagement and the global pursuit of convenience in the digital age. The political and institutional context in Ukraine, including wartime displacement, occupation of territories and a large diaspora abroad, requires innovative digital tools to ensure that all eligible voters can participate in elections. Therefore, the article aims to analyse the adherence to the principles of secret ballot and personal voting through alternative voting methods, such as e-voting. A four-level e-voting system is identified, having the legal, organisational, procedural and technological components. Moreover, the modern ways of securing, guaranteeing and ensuring the principles of secret ballot and personal voting in e-voting at these levels in Ukraine and abroad are clarified. To this end, the authors analyse legal approaches and electoral practice of foreign countries to determine how the substantive law is implemented in electoral procedures. It is established that the main problem of their unacceptability is the weak protection of confidentiality and the high probability of unauthorised interference with the voting procedure. However, it is possible to prevent such violations through a decentralised blockchain-based e-voting system. The article discusses the main advantages and disadvantages of using various platforms for e-voting, in particular Ethereum and the Hyperledger Fabric platform. Furthermore, the law of Ukraine is analysed concerning the possibility of using digital technologies in testing e-voting in elections and referendums.

This contribution adds a new perspective to the debate on electoral integrity by asking how electoral integrity affects the way in which election results translate into citizen attitudes towards the political system. It introduces a causal mechanism that links political losing to political trust via evaluations of electoral fairness: citizens who voted for the losing camp are more likely to view the electoral process as unfair than citizens who voted for the winning camp, resulting in political distrust. It further suggests that the effects of political losing on political trust depend on the level of electoral integrity. In conditions where the elections were conducted in a free and fair manner, even those who voted for the losing camp have little reason to suspect foul play and therefore political losing should barely affect perceptions of the electoral process. Whenever there are actual indications of electoral malpractice, however, political losers have much more reason to doubt the integrity of the electoral process than those who are content with the outcome of the election. The contribution makes use of a unique dataset that ex-post harmonizes survey data from three cross-national survey projects (Asian Barometer Survey, European Social Survey, Latinobarómetro) and macro-level data from the Varieties-of-Democracy Project to cover 45 democracies in Europe, East Asia, and Latin America. Using multi-level modeling, it finds that political losing indeed decreases political trust indirectly via perceptions of electoral fairness. Confirming its key proposition, the empirical analysis shows that political losing has a weaker effect on political trust in countries where electoral integrity is high.

Mediante uma análise documental e bibliográfica, o texto procura demonstrar quanto os processos eleitorais mais recentes – em particular a partir das eleições gerais de 2009 – influenciaram a aqui chamada de “transição inversa”, ou seja, a regressão democrática de um país como Moçambique. Assim, os processos eleitorais mostram a deterioração do sistema democrático moçambicano, constituindo o espelho mais evidente da fraqueza institucional de um país que, além do mais, acentuou os elementos autoritários e o seu aparato repressivo. Through a documentary and bibliographical analysis, the text seeks to demonstrate how much the most recent electoral processes – particularly since the 2009 general elections – have influenced the so-called “reverse transition”, i.e. the democratic regression of a country like Mozambique. Thus, the electoral processes show the deterioration of the Mozambican democratic system, constituting the most obvious mirror of the institutional weakness of a country that, moreover, has emphasised authoritarian elements and its repressive apparatus.

We estimate the private returns to being elected to parliament or to a municipal council using a regression discontinuity (RD) design. We first present a bootstrap method for measuring the closeness of elections, which can be applied to any electoral system. We then apply the method to perform a RD estimation in Finland, where seats are assigned according to a proportional open-list system. Becoming a member of parliament increases annual earnings initially by about €20,000, and getting elected to a municipal council by about €1000. Subsequent earnings dynamics reveal that the returns to parliamentarians accrue mainly during the time in office, while the effect on later earnings is small. We also find a relatively weak individual incumbency advantage of 18 percentage points in parliamentary elections; the incumbency effect in municipal elections is negligible.

Changing patterns of political participation observed by political scientists over the past half-century undermine traditional democratic theory and practice. The vast majority of democratic theory, and deliberative democratic theory in particular, either implicitly or explicitly assumes the need for widespread citizen participation. It requires that all citizens possess the opportunity to participate and also that they take up this opportunity. But empirical evidence gathered over the past half-century strongly suggests that many citizens do not have a meaningful opportunity to participate in the ways that many democratic theorists require, and do not participate in anything like the numbers that they believe is necessary. This paper outlines some of the profound changes that have been experienced by liberal democratic states in the 20th and early 21st Centuries, changes which are still ongoing, and which have resulted in declines in citizens participation and trust, the marginalisation of citizens from democratic life, and the entrenchment of social and economic inequalities which have damaged democracy. The paper challenges the conventional wisdom in rejecting the idea that the future of democracy lies in encouraging more widespread participation. The paper takes seriously the failure of the strategies adopted by many states to increase participation, especially among the poor, and suggests that instead of requiring more of citizens, we should in fact be requiring less of them. Instead of seeking to encourage more citizen participation, we should acknowledge that citizens will probably not participate in the volume, or in the ways, many democratic theorists would like, and that therefore we need an alternative approach: a regime which can continue to produce democratic outcomes, and which satisfies the requirements of political equality, in the absence of widespread participation by citizens.

It is important to note that at the end of the election process there is a question laying before to all stakeholders: Did these elections meet the international standards of electoral integrity? Countries around the world have a challenge in common. They are challenged to meet international standards of electoral integrity. There are no standards met in elections if the main stakeholders fail to be successful in their commitments or fail to commit themselves in meeting their responsibilities. Especially if the body which is in charge of administering the election process, such as the Central Election Commission, faces challenges to act in full “engine”, the probability to fail is higher. Albania held in June 2013, general political elections under the new proportional – closed list system, being implemented for the second time following June 2009 elections. The Central Election Commission was reformulated following extensive amendments to the Electoral Code. Was this Body capable to keep in consideration the constitutional right/universal right of people to vote periodically in order to elect their representatives freely, without interference? What is important to note, is that despite challenges, the body in charge of the administration of the voting process showed integrity and willingness to respect the law and universal suffrage rights, answering to the key question: Did these elections met the international standards of electoral integrity?