Electoral Systems in East Central Europe

Abstract

The democratic transition in Eastern and Central Europe provides a good opportunity toexamine how to apply the findings of the science of elections in a new dimension. This studybased on 167 elections in 23 countries shows the formation, evolution and political consequencesof the new electoral systems. The hypothesis of the paper is that the elections and electoralsystems in this region not always correspond to the conventional wisdom. Our analysis dividesinto five parts the region (Central Europe, Western and Eastern Balkans, Baltic States and theother former republics of Soviet Union). This division helps to get an sophisticatad picture aboutthe emergence and changes of the new electoral systems. By showing country by country we candemonstrate the similarities and differences between and within subgroups as well. Finallyusing three well-known indices (least square index, effective electoral and parliamentarynumber of parties) the study summarizes – country by country and subgroups by subgroups bytype – the political consequences for the proportionality and party structure. The analysis of the167 elections demonstrates that Eastern and Central Europe does not show uniformity regardingthe political consequences of the electoral systems. Their influence is more moderate than in theestablished democracies and they are also much more volatile. Their changes have shown ratherdiverging than converging trend in the last quarter century. The conventional findings aredifficult to apply for this region, they are only partially valid, especially the formation of partystructure differ from the previous experiences. In sum the Eastern and Central European electionsdo not invalidate the conventional statements of the elctoral studies but they offen do not showcorresponding image. So they significantly contribute to the further development and refinementof the previous findings.